Article

Poor balance and balance impairments are major predictors of falls. The purpose
of the current study was to determine the clinical validity of baseline
quantitative static trunk sway measurements in predicting incident falls in a
cohort of 287 community-dwelling non-demented older Americans (mean age
76.14+/-6.82years; 54% female). Trunk sway was measured using the SwayStar
device, and quantified as angular displacement in degrees in anterior-posterior
(pitch) and medio-lateral (roll) planes. Over a one-year follow-up period, 66
elders (23%) reported incident falls. Anterior-posterior angular displacement was
a strong predictor of incident falls in older adults in Cox proportional hazards
models (hazard ratio adjusted for age, gender, education, RBANS total score,
medical comorbidities, geriatric depression scale score, sensory impairments,
gait speed, and history of fall in the past 1year ((aHR)=1.59; p=0.033) whereas,
angular displacement in the medio-lateral plane was not predictive of falls
(aHR=1.35; p=0.276). Our results reveal the significance of quantitative trunk
sway, specifically anterior-posterior angular displacement, in predicting
incident falls in older adults.
CI - Copyright (c) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS