The purpose of the study was to assess the relationship between physical performance of older woman fallers and non-fallers.
Eighty-one community-dwelling older women (mean age ± SD, 70.4 ± 4.6 years) participated in this study.
Data on falls from the previous 12 months were obtained via face-to-face interviews with the participants. Physical performance tests, including functional reach test (FRT), 5 m gait test, timed up and go test (TUGT), and five times sit-to-stand test (FTSST), were performed.
Twenty-nine (35.8%) participants reported falling during the previous 12 months. Compared with those who did not fall, fallers showed low TUGT scores and FTSST scores.
Discriminant function analysis revealed that low TUGT scores and FTSST scores were significantly and independently associated with falls. Additionally, the discriminant function coefficients for these physical performance test scores were FTSST>TUGT.
This study provides evidence that reduced performances of both FTSST and TUGT are
important risk factors for falls in older women. The findings of this study prove useful in a clinical setting to maximize the potential benefit of interventions aimed at reducing and preventing falls.