Evaluation of risk of falls in patients at a memory impairment outpatient clinic.
OBJECTIVE
We investigated the usefulness of the fall-predicting score, a simple screening test to identify patients at high risk of falls in outpatients with cognitive impairment.


METHODS
This was a 1-year prospective study. Seventy-nine patients (28 men and 51 women, 78.1 +/- 5.9 years old) in the Memory Impairment Outpatient Clinic of Kyorin University Hospital. History of falls in the past year, record of falls in the follow-up period (1 year), fall-predicting score, time of standing on one foot, timed Up & Go test, tandem gait, functional reach, grip strength, maximum circumference of the legs and blood laboratory tests were measured.


RESULTS
Of the 79 subjects, 38 (48.1%) had experienced falls in the past year, and 29 (36.7%) experienced falls during the follow-up period. Comparing the two groups with and without a history of falls during the follow-up period, a significant difference was observed in fall-predicting score, timed Up & Go test, tandem gait and functional reach. Logistic regression analysis revealed that fall-predicting score was the only significant determinant for predicting future falls. Furthermore, fall-predicting score correlated with timed Up & Go, duration of standing on one foot, functional reach, grip strength and tandem gait. When the chi(2)-test was performed to investigate the correlation between individual items of the fall-predicting questions and falls during the follow-up period, "Do you use a stick when you walk?" and "Are there any obstacles in your house?" showed a significant difference (P < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Fall-predicting score is useful as a screening test to predict future falls in patients with cognitive decline.
Kikuchi
Reiko
R
Department of Geriatric Medicine, Kyorin University School of Medicine, Mitaka, Japan.
Kozaki
Koichi
K
Iwata
Akiko
A
Hasegawa
Hiroshi
H
Toba
Kenji
K
D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors