@article{ref1,
title="Determinants of use of a walking device in persons with Parkinson's disease",
journal="Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation",
year="2014",
author="Bryant, Mon S. and Rintala, Diana H. and Graham, James E. and Hou, Jyh-Gong and Protas, Elizabeth J.",
volume="95",
number="10",
pages="1940-1945",
abstract="OBJECTIVE: To identify determinants for use of a walking device in persons with Parkinson's disease (PD). <br><br>DESIGN: Cross-sectional study of participants with PD. SETTING: Laboratory. PARTICIPANTS: Eighty-five persons (60 Males) with PD were studied. Their mean age was 69.4 ± 8.9 years. The average time since diagnosis was 7.9 ± 5.3 years. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Age, gender, disease duration, disease severity and motor impairment were recorded. Participants were asked whether they usually used any walking device (e.g., cane or walker) and were categorized as either an &quot;independent walker&quot; or a &quot;device walker.&quot; Clinical balance measures including functional reach, turn duration, 5m Timed-Up-and-Go test (5m-TUG) and Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale were investigated for their contribution to the prediction of walking with a device. <br><br>RESULTS: Thirty-one participants (36.5%) reported they usually used a walking device. Classification and regression tree (CART) analysis determined that the 5m-TUG test and the ABC scale were important factors in differentiating participants who used a walking device from those who did not. Critical thresholds included 13 seconds for the 5m-TUG test and a score of 75 for the ABC scale in determining device walking. Using only those two determinants, the CART model correctly classified 81% of patients as either independent or needing a walking device. <br><br>CONCLUSION: The 5m-TUG test and ABC scale may be useful in clinical assessments of the need for a walking device in persons with PD.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0003-9993",
doi="10.1016/j.apmr.2014.06.002",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2014.06.002"
}