Isometric Strength Measures are Superior to the Timed Up and Go Test for Fall Prediction in Older Adults: Results from a Prospective Cohort Study

Valenzuela, Pedro L; Maffiuletti, Nicola A; Saner, Hugo Ernst; Schütz, Narayan; Rudin, Beatrice; Nef, Tobias; Urwyler, Prabitha (2020). Isometric Strength Measures are Superior to the Timed Up and Go Test for Fall Prediction in Older Adults: Results from a Prospective Cohort Study. Clinical interventions in aging, 15, pp. 2001-2008. Dovepress 10.2147/CIA.S276828

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Background: Isometric strength measures and timed up and go (TUG) tests are both recognized as valuable tools for fall prediction in older adults. However, results from direct comparison of these two tests are lacking. We aimed to assess the potential of isometric strength measures and the different modalities of the TUG test to detect individuals at risk of falling.
Methods: This is a prospective cohort study including 24 community-dwelling older adults (≥ 65 years, 19 females, 88± 7 years). Participants performed three variations of the TUG test (standard, counting and holding a full cup) and three isometric strength tests (handgrip, knee extension and hip flexion) at several time points (at baseline and every ∼ 6 weeks) during a one-year follow-up. The association between these tests and the incidence of falls during the follow-up was assessed.
Results: Twelve participants out of 24 participants experienced falls during the follow-up. Fallers showed a significantly lower handgrip strength (− 5.7 kg, 95% confidence interval: − 10.4 to − 1.1, p=0.019) and knee extension strength (− 4.9 kg, − 9.6 to − 0.2, p=0.042) at follow-up, while no significant differences were found for any TUG variation.
Conclusions: Handgrip and knee extension strength measures – particularly when assessed regularly over time – have the potential to serve as a simple and easy tool for detecting individuals at risk of falling as compared to functional mobility measures (ie, TUG test).

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

04 Faculty of Medicine > Department of Head Organs and Neurology (DKNS) > Clinic of Neurology
04 Faculty of Medicine > Pre-clinic Human Medicine > Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (ISPM)
10 Strategic Research Centers > ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research > ARTORG Center - Gerontechnology and Rehabilitation

UniBE Contributor:

Saner, Hugo Ernst, Schütz, Narayan, Nef, Tobias, Urwyler-Harischandra, Prabitha

Subjects:

600 Technology > 610 Medicine & health
300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology > 360 Social problems & social services
500 Science > 570 Life sciences; biology

ISSN:

1178-1998

Publisher:

Dovepress

Language:

English

Submitter:

Angela Amira Botros

Date Deposited:

10 Nov 2020 22:09

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 15:41

Publisher DOI:

10.2147/CIA.S276828

PubMed ID:

33149561

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.147792

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/147792

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