Posturographic measures did not improve the predictive power to identify recurrent falls in communitydwelling elderly fallers

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate if posturography can be considered a recurrent fall predictor in elderly individuals. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study. A total of 124 subjects aged 60 to 88 years were evaluated and divided into two groups—the recurrent fallers (89) and single fallers (35) groups. Patients’ sociodemographic characteristics were assessed, and clinical testing was performed. The functional test assessment instruments used were timed up and go test (TUGT), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), five times sit-to-stand test, and Falls Efficacy Scale (to measure fear of falling). Static posturography was performed in a force platform in the following three different situations—eyes open (EO), eyes closed (EC), and EO dual task. RESULTS: There were significant differences between the single and recurrent fallers groups regarding the fear of falling, the Geriatric Depression Scale score, the mean speed calculated from the total displacement of the center point of pressure (COP) in all directions with EO, and the root mean square of the displacement from the COP in the mediolateral axis with EC. Based on the hierarchical logistic regression model, none of the studied posturographic variables was capable of significantly increasing the power of differentiation between the recurrent and single fallers groups. Only TUGT with a cognitive distractor (po0.05) and the BBS (po0.01) presented with significant independent predictive power. CONCLUSION: TUGT with a cognitive distractor and the BBS were considered recurrent fall predictors in elderly fallers

Changes in postural balance associated with a woman's aging process

Context: Aging causes a progressive worsening in postural balance, affecting functional independence and increasing the risk of falls. Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of aging on the static balance in women from 50-years to 89-years of age. Design: This was a cross-sectional study, with 400 irregularly active women were evaluated and grouped by age: Group 6th decade (age 50 to 59) ‒ 58 participants; Group 7th decade (age 60 to 69) ‒ 214 participants; Group 8th decade (age 70 to 79) ‒ 92 participants; Group 9th decade (age 80 to 89) ‒ 36 participants. Postural balance was evaluated using a portable force platform in a standard standing position, with Eyes Open (EO) and Eyes Closed (EC). Results: In the two measurement conditions, the elderly women in Group 9th decade presented mediolateral displacement and range, and mean velocity greater than the women's values in Groups 6th and 7th decade. In the EO e EC situation, the displacement was higher in the elderly Group 9th decade compared to younger groups. Group 8th has a mean velocity greater than Group 6th decade in the EO situation. Conclusions: Posturography showed a decline in postural balance with advancing age, suggesting that the 9th decade of life is a borderline age to this detriment due to an increase in postural instability

Effectiveness of a multifactorial falls prevention program in community-dwelling older people when compared to usual care: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial (Prevquedas Brazil)

Background\ud Falling in older age is a major public health concern due to its costly and disabling consequences. However very few randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have been conducted in developing countries, in which population ageing is expected to be particularly substantial in coming years. This article describes the design of an RCT to evaluate the effectiveness of a multifactorial falls prevention program in reducing the rate of falls in community-dwelling older people.\ud \ud Methods/design\ud Multicentre parallel-group RCT involving 612 community-dwelling men and women aged 60 years and over, who have fallen at least once in the previous year. Participants will be recruited in multiple settings in Sao Paulo, Brazil and will be randomly allocated to a control group or an intervention group. The usual care control group will undergo a fall risk factor assessment and be referred to their clinicians with the risk assessment report so that individual modifiable risk factors can be managed without any specific guidance. The intervention group will receive a 12-week Multifactorial Falls Prevention Program consisting of: an individualised medical management of modifiable risk factors, a group-based, supervised balance training exercise program plus an unsupervised home-based exercise program, an educational/behavioral intervention. Both groups will receive a leaflet containing general information about fall prevention strategies. Primary outcome measures will be the rate of falls and the proportion of fallers recorded by monthly falls diaries and telephone calls over a 12 month period. Secondary outcomes measures will include risk of falling, fall-related self-efficacy score, measures of balance, mobility and strength, fall-related health services use and independence with daily tasks. Data will be analysed using the intention-to-treat principle.The incidence of falls in the intervention and control groups will be calculated and compared using negative binomial regression analysis.\ud \ud Discussion\ud This study is the first trial to be conducted in Brazil to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention to prevent falls. If proven to reduce falls this study has the potential to benefit older adults and assist health care practitioners and policy makers to implement and promote effective falls prevention interventions.\ud \ud Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01698580)The PREVQUEDAS BRAZIL trial is supported by a grant from FAPESP (Sao Paulo Research Foundation, protocol number 12/51216-0).We are grateful to the multidisciplinary team of the Falls Prevention Program (Programa de Prevenção de Quedas do Hospital das Clínicas da FMUSP – PPQ) for providing their clinical and research support (Valmari Cristina Aranha, Maria Aquimara Zambone) and Luiz Eugenio Garcez Leme and Julia Maria D’Andrea Greve for providing institutional support.Salaries for CS and AT are funded by Australian National Health and Medical Research Council Fellowships

Clinical use of posturography to assess community-dwelling elderly fallers

Introdução: Recorrência de quedas está presente em 50% dos casos de idosos caidores, fato que sinaliza piores desfechos na saúde dessa população. Daí a relevância dos fatores associados aos eventos recorrentes: se bem entendidos, eles podem conferir maior objetividade às avaliações de riscos e, consequentemente, produzir uma melhor correspondência entre as intervenções propostas e as reais necessidades dessa população. Objetivo: Investigar se a posturografia - uma das propostas de avaliação de risco de quedas -- adiciona à avaliação clínica a capacidade de discriminar a recorrência de quedas em idosos. Método: Estudo transversal, realizado no período de agosto de 2011 a novembro de 2012, com 124 idosos do Programa de Prevenção de Quedas em um hospital terciário na cidade de São Paulo. Foram avaliados dados sociodemográficos, clínicos e testes de performance como Timed Up and Go Test (TUGT), Velocidade de Marcha, Escala de Equilíbrio de Berg (Berg Balance Scale, BBS), teste do sentar e levantar, medo de cair (Falls Efficacy Scale International, FES-I) e sintomas depressivos (Escala de Depressão Geriátrica, EDG). A posturografia estática foi realizada por meio de plataforma de força em três diferentes situações: olhos abertos (OA), olhos fechados (OF) e OA com dupla tarefa. Resultados: Foram avaliados 124 sujeitos com idade entre 60 e 88 anos, sendo 35 caidores únicos e 89 caidores recorrentes. Houve diferença entre os grupos quanto ao relato de medo de cair (P= 0,01), sintomas depressivos (EDG) (P= 0,007), escala de eficácia em quedas - Internacional (FES-I) (P=0,01), consequência grave, como traumatismo cranioencefálico e fratura (P=0,002) e necessidade de ajuda para se levantar (P=0,007), sendo que essas duas últimas características são mais prevalentes no caidor único. A variável de amplitude média de deslocamento do centro de pressão (COP) no plano médio lateral (XSD) na condição de OF apresentou diferença entre grupos (P=0,011), assim como a velocidade média calculada pelo deslocamento total do COP em todas as direções (VAvg) na condição OA (P=0,014). Após regressão logística de forma hierárquica e adicionada à avaliação clínica, nenhuma variável da posturografia mostrou-se capaz de incrementar de forma significante o poder de diferenciação entre quedas recorrentes e únicas. No modelo final ajustado, sintomas depressivos (EDG) (P < 0,05), TUGT com distrator (P < 0,05) e BBS (P < 0,01) apresentaram poder preditivo significativo de forma independente. Conclusão: No que tange a discriminação da recorrência de quedas em idosos da comunidade, a posturografia realizada em diferentes situações (olhos abertos, olhos fechados e dupla tarefa) não agregou valor à avaliação clínica composta por dados sociodemográficos, variáveis clínicas e testes de performanceIntroduction: The recurrence of falls has been present in 50% of cases of elderly fallers, which predicts bad health outcomes for this population. Thus, it is important to understand the factors associated with these recurrent events so that the risk assessments are objective and allow the proposed interventions to meet the real needs of this population. Objective: To investigate whether the posturography test adds to the clinical evaluation in the ability to discriminate the recurrence of falls in the elderly. Method: This cross sectional study was conducted from August 2011 to November 2012, with 124 elderly from a Falls Prevention Program at a tertiary level hospital in the city of São Paulo. Sociodemographic, clinical and functional testing such as the Timed Up and Go Test (TUGT), Speed Gait, Berg Balance Scale (BBS), five times sit-to-stand test, fear of falling (Falls Efficacy Scale - International, FES-I) and depressive symptoms (Geriatric Depressive Scale, GDS) were evaluated. The static postGDurography was performed by means of a force platform in three different situations: eyes open (EO), eyes closed (EC) and EO dual task. Results: 124 subjects aged 60 to 88 years were evaluated, consisting of 35 single fallers and 89 recurrent fallers. Differences were found among the groups in terms of the reported fear of falling (p= 0.010), depressive symptoms (GDS) (p=0.007), Falls Efficacy Scale - International, (FES-I) (p=0.010), serious consequences such as traumatic brain injury and fracture (p=0.002) and the need for help to stand up (p= 0.007); the two last characteristics were more prevalent in single fallers. The variable of mean amplitude of center of pressure displacement (COP) in the median lateral plane (XSD) in the EC condition was different among groups (p =0.011), as was the average speed calculated through the total displacement of the COP in all directions (VAvg) in the EO condition (p= 0.014). After hierarchical logistic regression added to clinical evaluation, no posturography variable was capable of significantly increase the power of differentiation between recurrent and single falls. In the final adjusted model, depressive symptoms (EDG) (P < 0.05), the TUGT with a distractor (P < 0.05) and the BBS (P < 0.01) presented significant independent predictive power. Conclusion: Posturography performed in different situations (eyes open, eyes closed and dual task) did not add value to clinical evaluation - consisting of sociodemographic data, clinical variables and functional tests - in discriminating the recurrence of falls in elderly individuals living in the communit

Effectiveness of a multifactorial falls prevention program in community-dwelling older people when compared to usual care: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial (Prevquedas Brazil)

Abstract Background Falling in older age is a major public health concern due to its costly and disabling consequences. However very few randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have been conducted in developing countries, in which population ageing is expected to be particularly substantial in coming years. This article describes the design of an RCT to evaluate the effectiveness of a multifactorial falls prevention program in reducing the rate of falls in community-dwelling older people. Methods/design Multicentre parallel-group RCT involving 612 community-dwelling men and women aged 60 years and over, who have fallen at least once in the previous year. Participants will be recruited in multiple settings in Sao Paulo, Brazil and will be randomly allocated to a control group or an intervention group. The usual care control group will undergo a fall risk factor assessment and be referred to their clinicians with the risk assessment report so that individual modifiable risk factors can be managed without any specific guidance. The intervention group will receive a 12-week Multifactorial Falls Prevention Program consisting of: an individualised medical management of modifiable risk factors, a group-based, supervised balance training exercise program plus an unsupervised home-based exercise program, an educational/behavioral intervention. Both groups will receive a leaflet containing general information about fall prevention strategies. Primary outcome measures will be the rate of falls and the proportion of fallers recorded by monthly falls diaries and telephone calls over a 12 month period. Secondary outcomes measures will include risk of falling, fall-related self-efficacy score, measures of balance, mobility and strength, fall-related health services use and independence with daily tasks. Data will be analysed using the intention-to-treat principle.The incidence of falls in the intervention and control groups will be calculated and compared using negative binomial regression analysis. Discussion This study is the first trial to be conducted in Brazil to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention to prevent falls. If proven to reduce falls this study has the potential to benefit older adults and assist health care practitioners and policy makers to implement and promote effective falls prevention interventions. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov ( NCT01698580

Auxiliary devices for walking: guidance, demands and falls prevention in elderly

OBJECTIVE: The high number of elderly fallers raises, among other issues, the importance of proper use of assistive devices (DAM): crutches, canes and walkers. Despite DAM aim the improvement in functional independence, balance and the reduction of disability, most patients are not instructed on their proper use and they often use inadequate/damaged models or unsuitable height. Few studies have confirmed the efficacy of isolated prescription of DAM to reduce the risk of falls and few studies have shown the proper way to indicate and adjust them individually. Thus, in order to describe, inform and guide about the proper use of DAM, a literature review was conducted using the databases Medline, Lilacs, Scielo and PubMed, literary references and book chapters wich approached the topic. A total of nine articles and three book chapters were identified. The results showed, for each type of DAM, its indication, use, variations and its characteristics, guidance about walk and transfers and height adjustments. In addition, other relevant issues have been described such as patients' features and limitations, their environment, their social and economic conditions and mostly their functional capacity. The prescription, guidance and proper follow up of DAM by a physical therapist provide better confidence, skill and adherence regarding their use. Possibly, such gain will interfere on patient's daily activities performance and it will act on falls prevention.</p