@article{ref1,
title="Validity of simple gait-related dual task tests in predicting falls in community-dwelling older adults.",
journal="Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation",
year="2014",
author="Muhaidat, Jennifer and Kerr, Andrew and Evans, Jonathan J. and Pilling, Mark and Skelton, Dawn A.",
volume="95",
number="1",
pages="58-64",
abstract="OBJECTIVE: To investigate the predictive validity of simple gait-related dual task tests in predicting falls in community-dwelling older adults. DESIGN: A validation-cohort study with six months follow-up. SETTING: General community. PARTICIPANTS: Sixty-six independently ambulant community-dwelling adults aged 65 years or older, with normal cognitive function. Sixty-two completed the follow-up. No participants required frames for walking. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Occurrence of falls in the follow-up period and performance on primary and secondary tasks of eight dual and one triple task tests. RESULTS: A random forest classification analysis identified the top five predictors of a fall as 1) absolute difference in time between the timed up and go as a single task and while carrying a cup; 2) time required to complete the walking task in the triple task test; 3 & 4) walking and avoiding a moving obstacle as a single task and while carrying a cup and 5) performing the timed up and go while carrying a cup. Separate bivariate logistic regression analyses showed that performance on these tasks was significantly associated with falling (p < 0.01). Despite the random forest analysis being a more robust approach than multivariate logistic regression, it was not clinically useful for predicting falls. CONCLUSIONS: This study identified the most important outcome measures in predicting falls using simple dual task tests. The results showed that measures of change in performance were not useful in a multivariate model when compared to an &quot;allocated all to falls&quot; rule.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0003-9993",
doi="10.1016/j.apmr.2013.07.027",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2013.07.027"
}