Comparison of the Berg Balance Scale and Fullerton Advanced Balance Scale to predict falls in community-dwelling adults.
Yong-Jin Jeon, Gyoung-Mo Kim
PMID 28265146WHAT IT FOUND
Both the Berg Balance Scale and the Fullerton Advanced Balance Scale predicted fall risk in independent older adults, with similar accuracy.
Cut-offs of 40 points on the Berg and 22 points on the Fullerton identified fallers with high sensitivity but moderate specificity.
Key findings
01Total scores on both the Berg Balance Scale and the Fullerton Advanced Balance Scale were statistically significant predictors of fall risk.
02The two scales showed similar diagnostic accuracy, with areas under the curve of 0.70 for the Berg and 0.72 for the Fullerton.
03Optimal cut-off scores were 40 points for the Berg Balance Scale and 22 points for the Fullerton Advanced Balance Scale.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study included only participants from one geographic region, which may limit how well the results apply to other populations. The study did not account for other factors that influence balance and fall risk, such as muscle strength, medication use, or fear of falling. Fall history was based on self-report over the last six months, which can be subject to recall bias.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume a score above the cut-off means a patient is safe from falling. The specificity was moderate (65-67%), meaning these tests miss a significant number of people who do not fall but score in the 'at risk' range, and they do not prove that a high score guarantees no future falls.