Gait Speed Cut-Off Point as a Predictor of Fear of Falling in Older Adults

Abstract

Older adults with fear of falling (FOF) often reduce gait speed and restrict their activity, leading to decrease in quality of life. The objective of this study was: to study cut-off point of gait speed to predict FOF in female older adults. Sixty community-dwelling older women aged between 60-79 years were assessed FOF using Fall Efficacy Scale; FES (Thai version) and preferred gait speed using 10-Meter Walk Test. The Receiving Operator Characteristics (ROC) Curve was used to analyze the cut-off point. The results showed that based on FES cut-off score (22 point), 40 participants were assigned to FOF and 20 to no-FOF group. Gait speed cut-off point to predict FOF in this study was 0.95 m/s (sensitivity 70 %, specificity 60 %). The accuracy of prediction measured by area under ROC curve was 0.749. The conclusion of the study is that gait speed cut-off point can be used to predict FOF including to set goal of treatment and follow up the effectiveness of physical therapy program for improvement of walking ability.