@article{ref1,
title="Validity and relative ability of 4 balance tests to identify fall status of older adults with type 2 diabetes",
journal="Journal of geriatric physical therapy",
year="2016",
author="Marques, Alda and Silva, Alexandre and Oliveira, Ana and Cruz, Joana and Machado, Ana and Jácome, Cristina",
volume="40",
number="4",
pages="227-232",
abstract="BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The Berg Balance Scale (BBS), the Balance Evaluation Systems Test (BESTest), the Mini-BESTest, and the Brief-BESTest are useful tests to assess balance; however, their psychometric properties have not been studied well in older adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D). This study compared the validity and relative ability of the BBS, BESTest, Mini-BESTest, and Brief-BESTest to identify fall status in older adults with T2D. <br><br>METHODS: This study was a cross-sectional design. Sixty-six older adults with T2D (75 ± 7.6 years) were included and asked to report the number of falls during the previous 12 months and to complete the Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale. The BBS and the BESTest were administered, and the Mini-BESTest and Brief-BESTest scores were computed based on the BESTest performance. Receiver operating characteristics were used to assess the ability of each balance test to differentiate between participants with and without a history of falls. <br><br>RESULTS: The 4 balance tests were able to identify fall status (areas under the curve = 0.74-0.76), with similar sensitivity (60%-67%) and specificity (71%-76%). <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: The 4 balance tests were able to differentiate between older adults with T2D with and without a history of falls. As the BBS and the BESTest require longer application time, the Brief-BESTest may be an appropriate choice to use in clinical practice to detect fall risk.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1539-8412",
doi="10.1519/JPT.0000000000000109",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1519/JPT.0000000000000109"
}