The mini-BESTest can predict parkinsonian recurrent fallers: a 6-month prospective study.

OBJECTIVES

To examine whether the Mini-Balance Evaluation Systems Test (Mini-BESTest) independently predicts recurrent falls in people with Parkinson's disease.

DESIGN

The study used a longitudinal cohort design.

SUBJECTS

A total of 110 patients with Parkinson's disease completed the study and were included in the final analysis. Most of the patients had moderate disease severity.

METHODS

All subjects were measured to establish a baseline. The tests used were Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS III), Freezing of Gait Questionnaire, Five-Time-Sit-To-Stand Test, and Mini-BESTest. All patients were followed by telephone interview for 6 months to register the incidence of monthly falls.

RESULTS

Twenty-four patients (21.2%) reported more than one fall and were classified as recurrent fallers. Results of the multivariate logistic regression showed that, after adjusting for fall history and MDS-UPDRS III score, the Mini-BESTest score remained a significant predictor of recurrent falls. We further established that a cut-off Mini-BESTest score of 19 had the best sensitivity (79%) for predicting future falls in patients with Parkinson's disease.

CONCLUSION

The results indicate that those with a Mini-BESTest score < 19 at baseline had a significantly higher risk of sustaining recurrent falls in the next 6 months. These findings highlight the importance of evaluating dynamic balance ability during fall risk assessment in patients with Parkinson's disease.