These measures assess balance and falls risk prediction at the body , structure and function level , falls risk and balance , and falls risk at the activity level .
The motor examination of the Unified Parkinson ’s Disease Rating Scale ( UPDRS-ME ) with robust psychometric analysis is a condition-specific measure with acceptable properties .
Conclusion : Six of the 68 outcome measures have strong psychometric properties for the assessment of balance and falls risk prediction in PD .
Objective : To investigate the psychometric properties of measures of balance and falls risk prediction in people with Parkinson ’s disease ( PD ) .
Three simple clinical tests to accurately predict falls in people with Parkinson's disease.
Falls are a major cause of morbidity in Parkinson 's disease ( PD ) . The objective of this study was to identify predictors of falls in PD and develop a simple prediction tool that would be useful in routine patient care . Potential predictor variables ( falls history , disease severity , cognition , leg muscle strength , balance , mobility , freezing of gait [ FOG ] , and fear of falling ) were collected for 205 community-dwelling people with PD .  Falls were monitored prospect ively for 6 months using monthly falls diaries . In total , 125 participants ( 59 % ) fell during follow-up . A model that included a history of falls , FOG , impaired postural sway , gait speed , sit-to-st and , st and ing balance with narrow base of support , and coordinated stability had high discrimination in identifying fallers ( area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve [ AUC ] , 0.83 ; 95 % confidence interval [ CI ] , 0.77 - 0.88 ) . A clinical tool that incorporated 3 predictors easily determined in a clinical setting ( falling in the previous year : odds ratio [ OR ] , 5.80 ; 95 % CI , 3.00 - 11.22 ; FOG in the past month : OR , 2.39 ; 95 % CI , 1.19 - 4.80 ; and self-selected gait speed < 1.1 meters per second : OR , 1.86 ; 95 % CI , 0.96 - 3.58 ) had similar discrimination ( AUC , 0.80 ; 95 % CI , 0.73 - 0.86 ) to the more complex model ( P = 0.14 for comparison of AUCs ) . The absolute probability of falling in the next 6 months for people with low , medium , and high risk using the simple , 3-test tool was 17 % , 51 % , and 85 % , respectively . In people who have PD without significant cognitive impairment , falls can be predicted with a high degree of accuracy using a simple , 3-test clinical tool . This tool enables individualized quantification of the risk of falling . © 2013 Movement Disorder Society
These measures assess balance and falls risk prediction at the body , structure and function level , falls risk and balance , and falls risk at the activity level .
The motor examination of the Unified Parkinson ’s Disease Rating Scale ( UPDRS-ME ) with robust psychometric analysis is a condition-specific measure with acceptable properties .
Conclusion : Six of the 68 outcome measures have strong psychometric properties for the assessment of balance and falls risk prediction in PD .
Objective : To investigate the psychometric properties of measures of balance and falls risk prediction in people with Parkinson ’s disease ( PD ) .