TY - JOUR
T1 - Walking adaptability for targeted fall-risk assessments
AU - Geerse, Daphne J.
AU - Roerdink, Melvyn
AU - Marinus, Johan
AU - van Hilten, Jacobus J.
PY - 2019/5
Y1 - 2019/5
N2 - Background: Most falls occur during walking and are due to trips, slips or misplaced steps, which suggests a reduced walking adaptability. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential merit of a walking-adaptability assessment for identifying prospective fallers and risk factors for future falls in a cohort of stroke patients, Parkinson's disease patients, and controls (n = 30 for each group). Research question: Does an assessment of walking-adaptability improve the identification of fallers compared to generic fall-risk factors alone? Methods: This study comprised an evaluation of subject characteristics, clinical gait and balance tests, a quantitative gait assessment and a walking-adaptability assessment with the Interactive Walkway. Subjects’ falls were registered prospectively with falls calendars during a 6-month follow-up period. Generic and walking-related fall-risk factors were compared between prospective fallers and non-fallers. Binary logistic regression and Chi-square Automatic Interaction Detector analyses were performed to identify fallers and predictor variables for future falls. Results: In addition to fall history, obstacle-avoidance success rate and normalized walking speed during goal-directed stepping correctly classified prospective fallers and were predictors of future falls. Compared to the use of generic fall-risk factors only, the inclusion of walking-related fall-risk factors improved the identification of prospective fallers. Significance: If cross-validated in future studies with larger samples, these fall-risk factors may serve as quick entry tests for falls prevention programs. In addition, the identification of these walking-related fall-risk factors may help in developing falls prevention strategies.
AB - Background: Most falls occur during walking and are due to trips, slips or misplaced steps, which suggests a reduced walking adaptability. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential merit of a walking-adaptability assessment for identifying prospective fallers and risk factors for future falls in a cohort of stroke patients, Parkinson's disease patients, and controls (n = 30 for each group). Research question: Does an assessment of walking-adaptability improve the identification of fallers compared to generic fall-risk factors alone? Methods: This study comprised an evaluation of subject characteristics, clinical gait and balance tests, a quantitative gait assessment and a walking-adaptability assessment with the Interactive Walkway. Subjects’ falls were registered prospectively with falls calendars during a 6-month follow-up period. Generic and walking-related fall-risk factors were compared between prospective fallers and non-fallers. Binary logistic regression and Chi-square Automatic Interaction Detector analyses were performed to identify fallers and predictor variables for future falls. Results: In addition to fall history, obstacle-avoidance success rate and normalized walking speed during goal-directed stepping correctly classified prospective fallers and were predictors of future falls. Compared to the use of generic fall-risk factors only, the inclusion of walking-related fall-risk factors improved the identification of prospective fallers. Significance: If cross-validated in future studies with larger samples, these fall-risk factors may serve as quick entry tests for falls prevention programs. In addition, the identification of these walking-related fall-risk factors may help in developing falls prevention strategies.
KW - Control
KW - Fall-risk assessment
KW - Parkinson's disease
KW - Stroke
KW - Walking adaptability
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85063024432&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85063024432&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2019.02.013
DO - 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2019.02.013
M3 - Article
C2 - 30901621
AN - SCOPUS:85063024432
SN - 0966-6362
VL - 70
SP - 203
EP - 210
JO - Gait and Posture
JF - Gait and Posture
ER -