Prevalence of falls among elderly participants of a health promotion group and comparison of balance tests to detect risk of falls

Abstract Introduction: Falls of elderly people are common, representing a serious public health problem. The use of appropriate instruments in the assessment of elderly patients supports the early detection of individuals under risk of falls and its prevention. Objective: To verify the incidence of falls in a group of elderly patients and detect which balance test is the most appropriate for the studied sample. Methods: Quantitative, cross-sectional study with an observational approach. A total of 30 elderly patients aged over 60 years old participating in a health promotion group were included in the sample. The participants were initially interviewed and subsequently assessed by means of the following instruments: Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Timed Up and Go test (TUG), and the Dynamic Gait Index (DGI). Results: The mean age of the participants was 69.30 ± 7.47 years; 90% were women and 46.7% of the individuals reported falls. The participants obtained a mean value of 10.2 ± 2.5 seconds in the TUG, 51.4 ± 2.6 in the BBS, and 18.6 ± 4.2 in the DGI. The sensitivity of the scales was 0.71 in the TUG, 0.50 in the DGI, and 0.42 in the BBS; specificity was 0.44 in the TUG, 0.32 in the DGI and 0.63 in the BBS. Conclusion: A high prevalence of falls was observed in the sample. In addition, the TUG was the most sensitive test to assess balance in the assessed sample. However, its use alone requires caution in this sample.

老年人跌倒事件频发，已成为严峻的公共卫生问题。采用适宜工具对老年患者进行评估，有助于早期识别跌倒风险人群并开展预防工作。
研究目的：验证某老年患者群体的跌倒发生率，并筛选适用于本研究样本的最优平衡功能评估工具。
研究方法：本研究为观察性定量横断面研究。共纳入30名参与健康促进小组的60岁及以上老年患者作为研究样本。首先对受试者进行访谈，随后采用以下评估工具进行测评：伯格平衡量表（Berg Balance Scale, BBS）、计时起立行走试验（Timed Up and Go test, TUG）以及动态步态指数（Dynamic Gait Index, DGI）。
研究结果：受试者的平均年龄为69.30±7.47岁；其中女性占比90%，46.7%的受试者自述有跌倒史。受试者的计时起立行走试验平均耗时为10.2±2.5秒，伯格平衡量表平均得分为51.4±2.6，动态步态指数平均得分为18.6±4.2。三种评估工具的敏感度分别为：计时起立行走试验0.71、动态步态指数0.50、伯格平衡量表0.42；特异度分别为：计时起立行走试验0.44、动态步态指数0.32、伯格平衡量表0.63。
研究结论：本研究样本中跌倒患病率较高。此外，计时起立行走试验是本研究样本中评估平衡功能敏感度最高的工具，但单独使用该工具时需谨慎。