Physiological falls risk assessment in older people with Alzheimer's disease.
BACKGROUND
Falls are common in people with Alzheimer's disease (AD). There is some evidence that deficits in vision, peripheral sensation, strength, reaction time and balance may be partly responsible for this increased risk.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the feasibility and test-retest reliability of a physiological test battery designed to assess falls risk [the Physiological Profile Assessment (PPA)] in people with AD, and to compare their PPA scores to age- and sex-matched controls.


METHODS
Twenty-one community-dwelling people with probable, mild to moderate AD aged 63-91 years, and 21 age- and sex-matched controls underwent the PPA tests and the Mini-Mental State Examination. All tests were then repeated in the AD group to determine test-retest reliability.


RESULTS
Most of the PPA tests could be successfully administered to participants with AD. The AD group had a significantly higher overall falls risk score (t(40) = -2.41, p < 0.02), slower hand (t(40) = -4.86, p < 0.01) and foot reaction time (t(40) = -2.26, p < 0.05) and worse coordinated stability (t(40) = -2.40, p < 0.05) than the controls.


CONCLUSIONS
Physiological falls risk assessment is feasible in older people with mild to moderate AD. Older people with AD demonstrate significant impairments in several physiological domains, particularly reaction time, compared to controls.
Lorbach
Edwina R
ER
Musculoskeletal Research Centre, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Australia.
Webster
Kate E
KE
Menz
Hylton B
HB
Wittwer
Joanne E
JE
Merory
John R
JR
D000058:Accidental Falls; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D005528:Foot / Q000503:physiopathology; D006225:Hand / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D008875:Middle Aged; D004856:Postural Balance; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D012720:Severity of Illness Index