Abstract
BackgroundThis study was done to verify the associations between the usual gait speed (UGS), the Timed Up and Go test (TUG), and the perception of disability in elderly vestibular patients and to identify factors associated with TUG results.MethodsThis was a descriptive, analytical, and retrospective study that used data from the clinical records of vestibular patients aged 65 years or older at a rehabilitation service in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The records were examined for the following information: sex, age, type of vestibular disorder, dizziness handicap inventory (DHI) score and performance in the TUG and UGS tests before treatment. Pearson’s or Spearman’s correlation coefficient was used depending on the distribution of data. Age and the DHI were factored into multiple linear regression models in order to model the tests. A Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the predictive power of age, the DHI total, and the UGS for the sample’s TUG results. The level of significance was 5%.ResultsWe evaluated 118 clinical records, of which 26 were excluded due to incomplete information, leaving data from 92 vestibular patients (73 females; 78.3 ± 5.8 years old). Unilateral vestibular hypofunction and Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo presented the highest prevalence. The total score and the DHI domains showed a significant association with the TUG and UGS values. The age-adjusted DHI had a low predictive power for these same values.ConclusionsThe total score and DHI domains have a significant association with the TUG and UGS values for elderly adults with vestibular disorders. The age-adjusted DHI has a low predictive power for TUG and UGS values.
Highlights
This study was done to verify the associations between the usual gait speed (UGS), the Timed Up and Go test (TUG), and the perception of disability in elderly vestibular patients and to identify factors associated with TUG results
Numerous simple and composite physical performance tests are used to screen for this risk among older adults and include the usual gait speed (UGS) and the Timed Up and Go (TUG) [6]
We have found that age and the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) affect the diagnostic ability of the TUG, in our study the UGS did not
Summary
Data collection This is a descriptive, analytical and retrospective study that uses data from the clinical records of vestibular patients aged 65 years or older at a rehabilitation service in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Timed up and go To perform the TUG, subjects were given verbal instructions to stand up from a seated position on a chair, walk 03 m as quickly and as safely as possible, cross a line on the floor, turn around, walk back, and sit down Those subjects who used a helping device when walking in the community were requested to use that device [22]. Dizziness handicap inventory The DHI is a 25-item tool used to help patients rate their self-perception of handicap from dizziness [5] It is subdivided into functional (36 points), emotional (36 points), and physical domains (28 points), and ranges from zero (no perceived handicap) to 100 (the maximum perceived handicap) [9]. To analyze the correlations of the TUG and the UGS with age and handicap perception (physical, functional, emotional, and the DHI total), we used Pearson’s or Spearman’s correlation coefficient, depending on the distribution of data. The statistical program used was the Stata 12.0 version
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