Conradsson Mia, Lundin-Olsson Lillemor, Lindelöf Nina, Littbrand Håkan, Malmqvist Lisa, Gustafson Yngve, Rosendahl Erik
Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Geriatric Medicine, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden.
Phys Ther. 2007 Sep;87(9):1155-63. doi: 10.2522/ptj.20060343. Epub 2007 Jul 17.
The Berg Balance Scale (BBS) is frequently used to assess balance in older people, but knowledge is lacking about the absolute reliability of BBS scores. The aim of this study was to investigate the absolute and relative intrarater test-retest reliability of data obtained with the BBS when it is used among older people who are dependent in activities of daily living and living in residential care facilities.
The participants were 45 older people (36 women and 9 men) who were living in 3 residential care facilities. Their mean age was 82.3 years (SD=6.6, range=68-96), and their mean score on the Mini Mental State Examination was 17.5 (SD=6.3, range=4-30).
The BBS was assessed twice by the same assessor. The intrarater test-retest reliability assessments were made at approximately the same time of day and with 1 to 3 days in between assessments. Absolute reliability was calculated using an analysis of variance with a 95% confidence level, as suggested by Bland and Altman. Relative reliability was calculated using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).
The mean score was 30.1 points (SD=15.9, range=3-53) for the first BBS test and 30.6 points (SD=15.6, range=4-54) for the retest. The mean absolute difference between the 2 tests was 2.8 points (SD=2.7, range=0-11). The absolute reliability was calculated as being 7.7 points, and the ICC was calculated to .97.
Despite a high ICC value, the absolute reliability showed that a change of 8 BBS points is required to reveal a genuine change in function among older people who are dependent in activities of daily living and living in residential care facilities. This knowledge is important in the clinical setting when evaluating an individual's change in balance function over time in this group of older people.
伯格平衡量表（BBS）常用于评估老年人的平衡能力，但对于BBS评分的绝对可靠性尚缺乏了解。本研究的目的是调查在日常生活活动需要依赖他人且居住在养老机构的老年人中使用BBS时所获得数据的绝对和相对评分者内重测信度。
参与者为45名居住在3所养老机构的老年人（36名女性和9名男性）。他们的平均年龄为82.3岁（标准差=6.6，范围=68 - 96岁），简易精神状态检查表的平均得分为17.5分（标准差=6.3，范围=4 - 30分）。
由同一名评估者对BBS进行两次评估。评分者内重测信度评估在一天中大致相同的时间进行，两次评估间隔1至3天。按照布兰德和奥特曼的建议，使用95%置信水平的方差分析计算绝对信度。使用组内相关系数（ICC）计算相对信度。
首次BBS测试的平均得分为30.1分（标准差=15.9，范围=3 - 53分），重测平均得分为30.6分（标准差=15.6，范围=4 - 54分）。两次测试的平均绝对差值为2.8分（标准差=2.7，范围=0 - 11分）。计算得出绝对信度为7.7分，ICC为0.97。
尽管ICC值较高，但绝对信度表明，对于日常生活活动需要依赖他人且居住在养老机构的老年人，要显示功能的真正变化，BBS得分需改变8分。在临床环境中评估这组老年人随时间的平衡功能变化时，这一知识很重要。
