Thai falls risk assessment test (Thai-FRAT) developed for community-dwelling Thai elderly.

OBJECTIVE

To develop falls risk assessment test that is appropriate for community-dwelling Thai elderly, and to verify this test with the second set of population.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

A cross-sectional study was performed in 270 elderly living in Bansrang subdistrict, Ayuttaya province to identify a combination of variables that effectively predicted fall status in order to develop the Thai-FRAT The Thai-FRAT was validated with a second set of population whose cohort data had been collected during 1997-2002 in the study named "CERB project". One hundred fifty six elderly subjects were recruited in the analysis.

RESULTS

The newly developed Thai-FRAT was composed of six factors including "History of falls", "Impaired body balance", "Female", "Specific medication use", "Impaired visual acuity" and "Thai style house". Possible score of the Thai-FRAT ranged from 0-11. The best cutoff score identified by the receiver operating curve analysis was 4. Sensitivity and specificity were 0.92 and 0.83 respectively. The Thai-FRAT could predict recurrent fall after two years among the elderly subjects who had had a history of fall during the past six months in the second set of population. Association between the Thai-FRAT score and mortality was also shown.

CONCLUSION

The Thai-FRAT is the first fall risk assessment test developed for Thai community-dwelling elderly. It is a valid and reliable measure of fall risk. An effect of environment on falls among Thai elderly was clarified in the present study.