Is there a relationship between short FES-I test scores and objective assessment of balance in the older people with age-induced instability?

• Published in: Archives of gerontology and geriatrics Vol. 62; pp. 90 - 96
• Main Authors: del-Río-Valeiras, María, Gayoso-Diz, Pilar, Santos-Pérez, Sofía, Rossi-Izquierdo, Marcos, Faraldo-García, Ana, Vaamonde-Sánchez-Andrade, Isabel, Lirola-Delgado, Antonio, Soto-Varela, Andrés
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Ireland Ltd 01.01.2016
• Subjects: Accidental Falls - prevention & control; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging - physiology; Computerised dynamic posturography; Fear - psychology; Fear of falling; Female; Geriatric Assessment - methods; Humans; Instability; Internal Medicine; Male; Older people; Postural Balance; Psychometrics - methods; Psychometrics - standards; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; Short FES-I; Computerised dynamic posturography; DHI; TUG; ROC; CDP; CGS; AUC; LOS; Fear of falling; FES; Older people; SOT; Instability; Short FES-I; FOF; fear of falling; timed up and go test; centre of gravity swaying; receiver operating characteristic curves; Falls Efficacy Scale; area under the curve; limits of stability; dizziness handicap inventory; sensory organisation test; computerised dynamic posturography
• ISSN: 0167-4943; 1872-6976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.archger.2015.09.005

•Fear of falling (FOF) is a common problem among the elderly.•The short FES-I test is an excellent instrument for measuring FOF in the elderly.•Short FES-I test scores are closely correlated with their number of falls in the real life and with the computerised dynamic posturography results.•Short FES-I test can be considered an extraordinary screening test relative to real risk of falls in the elderly. Fear of falling (FOF) is a common problem among the elderly. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether there is a correlation between FOF, estimated via the short FES-I test, and objective evaluation of balance in a group of elderly patients with age-related instability. The balance of 139 subjects of more than 65 years of age is evaluated by the timed up and go test and the computerised dynamic posturography (CDP). Different groups of elderly patients were established according to the number of falls in the previous 12 months, and the correlation with short FES-I test scores was evaluated. Based on the results, ROC curves were calculated. The short FES-I test presents a good capacity to distinguish between subjects with ≤3 falls/year and subjects with ≥4 falls/year (AUC 0.719, 95%CI 0.627–0.810). A test score of 14.5 is the best cut-off point (74% sensitivity, 51% specificity). Using this cut-off point, the study sample comprises two groups: subjects with test scores of 7–14 vs 15–28, with the first group obtaining best results with statistical significance (Student’s t-test and the Mann–Whitney test) in most of the balance tests. The short FES-I is an excellent instrument that measures FOF in the elderly, and it is correlated with their number of falls both in real life and on the CDP. It is simple and fast, and so can be considered an extraordinary screening test relative to real risk of falls in the elderly.