Article

This study investigated whether the Tinetti scale, as a subjective measure for
fall risk, is associated with objectively measured gait characteristics. It is
studied whether gait parameters are different for groups that are stratified for
fall risk using the Tinetti scale. Moreover, the discriminative power of gait
parameters to classify elderly according to the Tinetti scale is investigated.
Gait of 50 elderly with a Tinneti>24 and 50 elderly with a Tinetti</=24 was
analyzed using acceleration-based gait analysis. Validated algorithms were used
to derive spatio-temporal gait parameters, harmonic ratio, inter-stride amplitude
variability and root mean square (RMS) from the accelerometer data. Clear
differences in gait were found between the groups. All gait parameters correlated
with the Tinetti scale (r-range: 0.20-0.73). Only walking speed, step length and
RMS showed moderate to strong correlations and high discriminative power to
classify elderly according to the Tinetti scale. It is concluded that subtle gait
changes that have previously been related to fall risk are not captured by the
subjective assessment. It is therefore worthwhile to include objective gait
assessment in fall risk screening.
CI - Copyright (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
- Chutes

Langue : ANGLAIS