Citation

Coote S, Finlayson M, Sosnoff JJ. Arch. Phys. Med. Rehabil. 2014; 95(5): 862-866.

Affiliation

Department of Clinical Therapies, University of Limerick, Ireland. Electronic address: susan.coote@ul.ie.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.apmr.2013.10.018

PMID

24215991

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether fall rates are constant across levels of mobility limitations. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of baseline assessments from a stratified randomized control trial. Setting: Community PARTICIPANTS: 365 persons with MS divided into 5 groups based on the mobility section of the Guys Neurological Disability Scale (GNDS): no walking impairment (n=84), impaired walking no aid (n=87), unilateral support (n=76), bilateral support to walk (n=78), or occasional wheelchair user (n=42). INTERVENTIONS: not applicable MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self-reported fall history (i.e. retrospective) in the preceding 3 months RESULTS: 124 persons in the overall sample reported falling in the last three months (fall prevalence = 33.97%). Of the total sample, 17.8% reported two or more falls in the last three months. Chi squared analysis revealed a significant difference in the proportion of fallers across GNDS categories (χ2 = 42.64; p<0.0001). Post hoc analysis revealed that the group who walked with bilateral support had the greatest proportion of fallers (52.6%) while the group without walking impairment had the lowest proportion (15.9%). An examination of recurrent fallers as a function of group found that there were more recurrent fallers (70%) in the group that had a walking impairment but used no aid relative to the other groups. CONCLUSION: The current findings highlight that fall rates including recurrent fall prevalence is not uniform across mobility aid categories in persons with MS. Those using bilateral assistance for gait have the highest prevalence of fallers and those with walking limitations and not yet using an aid had the greatest prevalence of multiple falls.

Language: en