Timed Up and Go test phases as predictors of future falls in community-dwelling older adults

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/fm.2022.35142

Abstract

Introduction: The Timed Up and Go (TUG) is a test widely used to assess the risk of falls in older adults. Although it is a complex task, only the total TUG time has been used for evaluation. The widespread use of smartphones has provided the development of applications for monitoring diagnostic procedures. Objective: To analyze the ability to predict future falls in older adults. Methods: A cohort study (1 year) of 42 participants using the sTUG Doctor. Fall events during 1-year follow-up were monitored by telephone. The number of days between assessment and first fall or last contact was calculated for survival analysis, assessed by unadjusted and adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression models. Tests with p <5 % were considered statistically significant and between 5% and 10% were indicative of significance (Epi-Info™ 7.2). Results: Falls were observed in 22 (52.38%) participants (fallers). The results indicated that cognitive impairment, depressive symptoms, women, and participants with fear of falling (FES-I) were more likely to fall. Fallers performed worse on all sTUG Doctor phases. Hazard ratios for predicting falls were significant for total TUG time (1.35; p = 0.029) and total number of steps (1.52; p = 0.057). Total TUG time remained significant when adjusted for sex, age group, FES-I, and depression level. Conclusion: The sTUG Doctor was an important tool to predict falls in community-dwelling older adults.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Gabriela Guimarães Oliveira-Zmuda, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS)

School of Medicine

Cristina Loureiro Chaves Soldera, Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre (UFCSPA)

Department of Speech Therapy

Emil Jovanov, University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH)

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Ângelo José Gonçalves Bós, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS)

School of Medicine

Published

2022-08-17

Issue

Section

Original Article