title: Use of a Short-Form Balance Confidence Scale to Predict Future Recurrent Falls in People With Parkinson Disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess whether the 16-item Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale (ABC-16) and short-form 6-item Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale (ABC-6) could predict future recurrent falls in people with Parkinson disease (PD) and to validate the robustness of their predictive capacities.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twelve-month prospective cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  General community.
  
  
  METHODS
  People with idiopathic PD (N=79).
  
  
  METHODS
  Clinical tests were conducted to assess symptom severity, balance confidence, and medical history. Over the subsequent 12 months, participants recorded any falls on daily fall calendars, which they returned monthly by reply paid post.
  
  
  METHODS
  Logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic analyses estimated the sensitivities and specificities of the ABC-16 and ABC-6 for predicting future recurrent falls in this cohort, and "leave-one-out" validation was used to assess their robustness.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 79 patients who completed follow-up, 28 (35.4%) fell more than once during the 12-month period. Both the ABC-16 and ABC-6 were significant predictors of future recurrent falls, and moderate sensitivities (ABC-16: 75.0%; ABC-6: 71.4%) and specificities (ABC-16: 76.5%; ABC-6: 74.5%) were reported for each tool for a cutoff score of 77.5 and 65.8, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results have significant implications and demonstrate that the ABC-16 and ABC-6 independently identify patients with PD at risk of future recurrent falls.
authors: School of Exercise Science, Australian Catholic University, Banyo, Queensland, Australia. Electronic address: michael.cole@acu.edu.au.
authors: Michael H
authors: MH
authors: Cole
authors: School of Exercise Science, Australian Catholic University, Banyo, Queensland, Australia.
authors: Jodi
authors: J
authors: Rippey
authors: School of Exercise Science, Australian Catholic University, Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia.
authors: Geraldine A
authors: GA
authors: Naughton
authors: Asia-Pacific Center for Neuromodulation, Center for Clinical Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors: Peter A
authors: PA
authors: Silburn
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004856:Postural Balance; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012372:ROC Curve; D012008:Recurrence; D020377:Self Efficacy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Accidental falls; Fear; Parkinson disease; Rehabilitation; Risk assessment