TY - JOUR
T1 - Self-Report of Missteps in Older Adults
T2 - A Valid Proxy of Fall Risk?
AU - Srygley, Jennifer M.
AU - Herman, Talia
AU - Giladi, Nir
AU - Hausdorff, Jeffrey M.
N1 - Funding Information:
Supported by the National Institutes of Health (grant no. AG-14100), by the Israel Ministry of Absorption, and by the European Union Sixth Framework Program (grant no. FET 018474-2), Dynamic Analysis of Physiological Networks (DAPHNet), and STREP 045622 SENSing and ACTION to support mobility in Ambient Assisted Living (SENSACTION-AAL).
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - Srygley JM, Herman T, Giladi N, Hausdorff JM. Self-report of missteps in older adults: a valid proxy of fall risk? Objective: To evaluate the relationship between missteps and falls and to identify factors associated with missteps, potentially to generate a broader picture of fall risk. Design: Prospective, observational cohort. Setting: General community. Participants: A sample of healthy, community-living older adults (N=266; age, 70-90y) who were cognitively intact and walked independently. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: Baseline testing of gait, motor function, cognitive function, affect, and balance confidence was followed by a 12-month period in which subjects completed a daily log documenting the number of falls and missteps (defined as a trip, slip, or other loss of balance in which recovery occurred to prevent a fall). Results: Mean ± SD participant age was 76.4±4.3 years. Of all the participants, 20.7% reported at least 1 misstep, and 25.6% of the participants reported at least 1 fall during the 12 months. Among subjects who had multiple falls, missteps were more common than falls by a ratio of 3:1 (P<.001). Subjects who reported multiple missteps were more likely to fall prospectively (relative risk=3.89). Missteps were associated with higher scores on the Geriatric Depression Scale (P=.009) and increased anxiety (P=.014), but were not associated with other known risk factors for falls, including gait and cognitive function. Conclusions: The self-report of missteps may be a valuable tool in the research of falls and fall risk and may provide a way to identify patients at risk for falls before they fall.
AB - Srygley JM, Herman T, Giladi N, Hausdorff JM. Self-report of missteps in older adults: a valid proxy of fall risk? Objective: To evaluate the relationship between missteps and falls and to identify factors associated with missteps, potentially to generate a broader picture of fall risk. Design: Prospective, observational cohort. Setting: General community. Participants: A sample of healthy, community-living older adults (N=266; age, 70-90y) who were cognitively intact and walked independently. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: Baseline testing of gait, motor function, cognitive function, affect, and balance confidence was followed by a 12-month period in which subjects completed a daily log documenting the number of falls and missteps (defined as a trip, slip, or other loss of balance in which recovery occurred to prevent a fall). Results: Mean ± SD participant age was 76.4±4.3 years. Of all the participants, 20.7% reported at least 1 misstep, and 25.6% of the participants reported at least 1 fall during the 12 months. Among subjects who had multiple falls, missteps were more common than falls by a ratio of 3:1 (P<.001). Subjects who reported multiple missteps were more likely to fall prospectively (relative risk=3.89). Missteps were associated with higher scores on the Geriatric Depression Scale (P=.009) and increased anxiety (P=.014), but were not associated with other known risk factors for falls, including gait and cognitive function. Conclusions: The self-report of missteps may be a valuable tool in the research of falls and fall risk and may provide a way to identify patients at risk for falls before they fall.
KW - Aging
KW - Cognition
KW - Falls, accidental
KW - Gait
KW - Rehabilitation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=65249116976&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.apmr.2008.11.007
DO - 10.1016/j.apmr.2008.11.007
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C2 - 19406298
AN - SCOPUS:65249116976
SN - 0003-9993
VL - 90
SP - 786
EP - 792
JO - Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
JF - Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
IS - 5
ER -