Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Inonu University Faculty of Medicine, Malatya, Turkey.
Gerontology. 2009;55(6):660-5. doi: 10.1159/000235652. Epub 2009 Aug 18.
Falls among the elderly are associated with a high morbidity and mortality and can involve high-cost medical interventions. The risk of falls often remains undiagnosed until an episode occurs but if the risk is high, preventative measures could be introduced.
This 6-month prospective study investigated whether different postural clinical measures and fear of falling (FOF) itself can predict future falls in postmenopausal women aged > or =50 years.
125 postmenopausal women were studied comparing the outcome of fallers vs. non-fallers within the 6-month follow-up study period. Clinical measures, history of falls and FOF data were determined at baseline and the number of falls and FOF were ascertained at the final visit or by telephone interview at 6 months.
Of the clinical measures investigated, the Falls Efficacy Scale International (FES-I) >26 points (OR = 7.28, per additional point, 95% CI 2.25-23.61, p = 0.001) and Berg Balance Scale (BBS) < or =52 points (OR = 4.77, per additional point, 95% CI = 1.15-19.82, p = 0.031) performed best in prediction of the future falls.
Postmenopausal women aged > or =50 years who had FES-I scores >26 points and BBS < or =52 points should be examined for risk factors of future falls and offered preventative measures.
老年人跌倒与高发病率和死亡率相关，并可能涉及高成本的医疗干预。跌倒的风险通常在发生之前未被诊断出来，但如果风险较高，可以引入预防措施。
本 6 个月前瞻性研究调查了不同的姿势临床测量指标和对跌倒的恐惧（FOF）本身是否可以预测绝经后 >或=50 岁女性未来的跌倒。
在 6 个月的随访研究期间，研究了 125 名绝经后女性，比较了跌倒者和非跌倒者的结果。在基线时确定临床测量指标、跌倒史和 FOF 数据，并在最后一次就诊或 6 个月时通过电话访谈确定跌倒次数和 FOF。
在所研究的临床测量指标中，跌倒效能量表国际版（FES-I）>26 分（OR=7.28，每增加 1 分，95%CI 2.25-23.61，p=0.001）和伯格平衡量表（BBS）<或=52 分（OR=4.77，每增加 1 分，95%CI=1.15-19.82，p=0.031）在预测未来跌倒方面表现最佳。
年龄 >或=50 岁的绝经后女性，如果 FES-I 评分>26 分且 BBS<或=52 分，应检查未来跌倒的危险因素，并提供预防措施。
