Discordance Between Balance Ability and Perception and Its Relation to Falls in Parkinson's Disease: A Replication Analysis.
Jason K Longhurst, Andrew Hooyman, Franziska Albrecht and 2 others
PMID 40326378WHAT IT FOUND
In 171 people with Parkinson's disease, mismatch between Timed Up and Go balance ability and perceived confidence was associated with faller status over the previous 12 months.
Key findings
01Among 171 people with Parkinson's disease, the mismatch between Timed Up and Go balance ability and Activities Specific Balance Confidence Scale score was significantly related to faller status over the previous 12 months.
02Discordance values below 0.49 were more likely to be seen in fallers, and the model had an accuracy of 68.8%.
03When MiniBEST replaced Timed Up and Go in the mismatch calculation, the odds ratio for falls was 0.97, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.96 to 1.0 and p = 0.02.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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
This was a secondary analysis of baseline data from two clinical trials, not a trial of an intervention, so it cannot show that discordance causes falls or that treating discordance prevents falls. Falls were reported retrospectively for the previous 12 months, which can introduce recall bias. Several possible covariates were not available, including freezing of gait, cognition, and more robust disease severity measures. The sample could not be compared with the prior study on disease severity or Timed Up and Go times because different severity scales and administration methods were used. The MiniBEST-derived result was reported with a 95% confidence interval of 0.96 to 1.0 and p = 0.02, while the discussion states it did not meet the significance threshold, so its independent value is unclear. The data came from two clinical trials led by the same investigators, and some baseline participants were not included in the subsequent trials.
Declared interests
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that a mismatch between balance ability and confidence causes falls or that fixing that mismatch will reduce falls. The study analysed baseline data from two trials and classified fallers retrospectively; it tested association, not treatment.