Laboratory of Movement Analysis and Measurement (LMAM), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Service of Geriatric Medicine and Geriatric Rehabilitation, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Gerontology. 2022;68(5):587-600. doi: 10.1159/000518389. Epub 2021 Sep 15.
Falls are a major cause of injuries in older adults. To evaluate the risk of falls in older adults, clinical assessments such as the 5-time sit-to-stand (5xSTS) test can be performed. The development of inertial measurement units (IMUs) has provided the possibility of a more in-depth analysis of the movements' biomechanical characteristics during this test. The goal of the present study was to investigate whether an instrumented 5xSTS test provides additional information to predict multiple or serious falls compared to the conventional stopwatch-based method.
Data from 458 community-dwelling older adults were analyzed. The participants were equipped with an IMU on the trunk to extract temporal, kinematic, kinetic, and smoothness movement parameters in addition to the total duration of the test by the stopwatch.
The total duration of the test obtained by the IMU and the stopwatch was in excellent agreement (Pearson's correlation coefficient: 0.99), while the total duration obtained by the IMU was systematically 0.52 s longer than the stopwatch. In multivariable analyses that adjusted for potential confounders, fallers had slower vertical velocity, reduced vertical acceleration, lower vertical power, and lower vertical jerk than nonfallers. In contrast, the total duration of the test measured by either the IMU or the stopwatch did not differ between the 2 groups.
An instrumented 5xSTS test provides additional information that better discriminates among older adults those at risk of multiple or serious falls than the conventional stopwatch-based assessment.
跌倒 是老年人受伤的主要原因。为了评估老年人跌倒的风险，可以进行临床评估，如 5 次坐立测试（5xSTS）。惯性测量单元（IMU）的发展为更深入地分析测试期间运动的生物力学特征提供了可能性。本研究的目的是探讨与传统基于秒表的方法相比，仪器化 5xSTS 测试是否能提供额外的信息来预测多次或严重跌倒。
对 458 名社区居住的老年人进行了数据分析。参与者在躯干上配备了 IMU，除了通过秒表获得测试的总持续时间外，还提取了时间、运动学、动力学和运动平滑度的运动参数。
IMU 和秒表获得的测试总持续时间非常吻合（皮尔逊相关系数：0.99），而 IMU 获得的测试总持续时间比秒表系统地长 0.52 秒。在调整了潜在混杂因素的多变量分析中，跌倒者的垂直速度较慢，垂直加速度降低，垂直功率和垂直冲击较小，而非跌倒者则不然。相比之下，IMU 或秒表测量的测试总持续时间在两组之间没有差异。
仪器化 5xSTS 测试提供了比传统基于秒表的评估更好地区分有多次或严重跌倒风险的老年人的额外信息。
