Session Information
Date: Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Session Title: Rating scales
Session Time: 12:00pm-1:30pm
Location: Exhibit Hall located in Hall B, Level 2
Objective: To compare the accuracy of the Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale (ABC) and Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I) with the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Dynamic Gait Index (DGI), Functional Reach Test (FRT) and Timed Up and Go (TUG) in identifying recurrent fallers with Parkinson’s disease (PD); and to explore the ability of combinations of up to three tests to predict recurrent falls.
Background: Balance confidence and fear of falling are factors associated with recurrent falls in individuals with PD. However, the accuracy for falls prediction based on self-report measures has not been widely investigated.
Methods: A prospective cohort study with individuals with PD was performed. Participants (n = 225) were assessed with the ABC, FES-I, BBS, FRT, TUG and DGI. Those who reported ≥2 falls in the 12-month follow-up period were classified as recurrent fallers. Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC) were determined and Akaike information criterion (AIC) was used to select the best predictive model.
Results: Eighty-four (37.3%) participants were classified as recurrent fallers. The AUC for the ABC was 0.73, for the FES-I 0.74 and for the TUG, FRT, DGI and BBS was 0.72, 0.74, 0.76 and 0.79, respectively (p > 0.05). Two-test models provided additional discriminating ability when compared to individual measures and had similar AIC as three-test models, particularly BBS with FES-I.
Conclusions: ABC and FES-I demonstrated moderate accuracy in predicting recurrent falls, showing similar predictive ability as performance-based balance measures, especially FRT and TUG. Two-test models showed similar performance as three-test models, suggesting that a combination of two measures may improve the predictive ability of recurrent falls in PD. Specifically, the utilization of BBS along with FES-I may be considered.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
L.R.S. Almeida, G.T. Valenca, N.N. Negreiros, E.B. Pinto, J. Oliveira-Filho. A comparison of self-report and performance-based balance measures to predict recurrent falls in people with Parkinson’s disease: A cohort study [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2016; 31 (suppl 2). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/a-comparison-of-self-report-and-performance-based-balance-measures-to-predict-recurrent-falls-in-people-with-parkinsons-disease-a-cohort-study/. Accessed July 9, 2025.« Back to 2016 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/a-comparison-of-self-report-and-performance-based-balance-measures-to-predict-recurrent-falls-in-people-with-parkinsons-disease-a-cohort-study/