Article

Individuals with Huntington's disease (HD) experience
balance and gait problems that lead to falls. Clinicians currently have very
little information about the reliability and validity of outcome measures to
determine the efficacy of interventions that aim to reduce balance and gait
impairments in HD. This study examined the reliability and concurrent validity of
spatiotemporal gait measures, the Tinetti Mobility Test (TMT), Four Square Step
Test (FSST), and Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) Scale in
individuals with HD. METHODS: Participants with HD [n = 20; mean age +/- SD=50.9
+/- 13.7; 7 male] were tested on spatiotemporal gait measures and the TMT, FSST,
and ABC Scale before and after a six week period to determine test-retest
reliability and minimal detectable change (MDC) values. Linear relationships
between gait and clinical measures were estimated using Pearson's correlation
coefficients. RESULTS: Spatiotemporal gait measures, the TMT total and the FSST
showed good to excellent test-retest reliability (ICC > 0.75). MDC values were
0.30 m/s and 0.17 m/s for velocity in forward and backward walking respectively,
four points for the TMT, and 3s for the FSST. The TMT and FSST were highly
correlated with most spatiotemporal measures. The ABC Scale demonstrated lower
reliability and less concurrent validity than other measures. CONCLUSIONS: The
high test-retest reliability over a six week period and concurrent validity
between the TMT, FSST, and spatiotemporal gait measures suggest that the TMT and
FSST may be useful outcome measures for future intervention studies in ambulatory
individuals with HD.
CI - Copyright (c) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS