Objective: We aimed to determine predictive factors for serious falls in PD by long term follow-up for four years after comprehensive evaluation both in physical and mental status.

Background: Falls in Parkinson’s disease (PD) often result in serious injuries that require hospitalization and are well known cause of deterioration in their activity of daily living (ADL). Prediction of falls in PD has not been established mainly because the selection of potential risk factors and definition of falls were varied among studies.

Method: We enrolled 31 patients with PD (71.7 ± 8.0 years old, 21 males, Yahr staging 2.3 ± 0.8). All patients were examined by Trail Making Test (TMT) -A, B, FAB, MMSE, UPDRS, Standard Attention Test (CAT: Clinical Assessment for Attention), TUG (Timed Up and Go test), and modified Rankin Scale (mRS). Their nutritional status were also evaluated by serum levels of Albumine and ChE and BMI was recorded. Serious falls were defined as hospitalization or visit to outpatient clinic due to bone fractures or head trauma. After the entry of this study, patients were followed for four years, and factors associated with serious falls were determined.

Results: Serious falls were observed in 9 (29%) patients. MMSE score was 26.7 ± 2.51, which was more than 20 in all cases. TUG (time) of the fall group was significantly longer than that of the non-fall group, 15.3 ± 10.0 sec vs 9.66 ± 3.76 sec. ChE of the fall group was significantly lower than that of the non-fall group, 220.4 ± 41.1 U / l vs 286.0 ± 79.3 U / l. There was no significant difference in TUG (step number) and the BMI between the two groups. Significant correlation between CAT (required time) and TUG (time) was observed (r = 0.724, p = 0.0001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrate TUG was significantly associated with serious falls for the subsequent four-years period (p<0.039). Cut off value of TUG for the prediction of serious falls was determined by receiver operated characteristics curve analysis as 9.95 sec.

Conclusion: The TUG test (>9.95 sec) for PD patients is appeared to be predictive of their serious falls.

« Back to MDS Virtual Congress 2020

MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/predictive-factors-of-serious-falls-in-parkinsons-disease/