Prevalence and risk factors for falls among community-dwelling adults in Riyadh area.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess fall prevalence, identify related risk factors, and establish cut-off scores for fall risk measures among community-dwelling adults in Riyadh region of Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in community, Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia. A sample of 276 Saudi citizens aged ≥40 years who were able to read and write in Arabic. Fall history and number of falls in the past 12 months were determined via self-reports. Variables assessed included demographic information, self-reported chronic diseases, depressive symptoms, and back pain severity. Results: Participants were classified as either fallers (n = 28, 10.14%) or non-fallers. Fallers were more likely to have arthritis (odds ratio [OR]: 7.60, p = 0.001), back pain (OR: 5.22, p = 0.002), and higher depressive symptom scores (OR: 1.09, p = 0.013) than non-fallers. The number of reported falls was significantly associated with an elevated body mass index (incidence rate ratio [IRR]: 1.09, p = 0.045), arthritis (IRR: 8.74, p < 0.001), back pain (IRR: 4.08, p = 0.005), neurological diseases (IRR: 13.75, p < 0.007), and depressive symptoms (IRR: 1.08, p = 0.005). Cut-off scores predictive of falls associated with back pain and depressive symptoms were 1.5 (sensitivity: 0.61; specificity: 0.79; area under the curve [AUC]: 0.70) and 11.5 score (sensitivity: 0.57; specificity: 0.76; AUC: 0.66), respectively. Conclusions: The prevalence of falls was relatively low among the individuals considered in this study. Chronic conditions, back pain severity, and depressive symptoms were determined to be associated with falls among community-dwelling individuals in Saudi Arabia.

Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Arabic version of the foot function index in patients with chronic lateral ankle instability.

BACKGROUND: The English version of the Foot Function Index (FFI) is a reliable and valid tool for measuring pain and functional instability due to chronic lateral ankle instability (CLAI). However, its use among Arabic speakers with CLAI is limited because of the unavailability of the Arabic version of the FFI (FFI-Arb). This study aimed to translate, cross-culturally adapt and validate the FFI from the original English version into Arabic. METHODS: The FFI questionnaire was translated using the Beaton guidelines. Two-hundred-and-thirty native Arabic-speaking participants with CLAI were recruited from different physiotherapy clinics in Saudi Arabia. The convergent validity of the FFI-Arb was tested using the Spearman correlation with the Arabic version Cumberland ankle instability tool (CAIT-Arab). Test-retest reliability was tested among 92 participants who completed the form again after seven days. RESULTS: Two-hundred-and-thirty participants were enrolled (mean age = 32.09, Standard deviation (SD) = 8.64 years old). There was excellent internal consistency for the three subscales of FFI: pain (0.95), disability (0.97), and activity limitation (0.86), as for the total score (0.98). Convergent validity was analyzed by Spearman rank correlation between the new translated versions of FFI-Arb and CAIT-Arab. The total FFI-Arb and CAIT-Arab scores were moderately correlated (rho = - 0.569; p < 0.001). Subscales of FFI-Arb, such as pain, disability, and activity limitation, were also moderately correlated with CAIT-Arab (rho = - 0.565, rho = - 0.561, rho = - 0.512; p < 0.001). The construct validity was confirmed by principal component analysis (factor analysis) showing a three-factor structure (eigenvalue 1) of FFI-Arb with a total variance of 77.3%. Test-retest reliability was excellent for the total score of the FFI-Arb and all its subscales (interclass correlation coefficient = 0.984-0.999). CONCLUSIONS: The FFI-Arb is a reliable and valid tool for Arabic-speaking patients with CLAI. The FFI-Arb can be utilized in hospitals and clinics in Arabic speaking countries.

Gait Speed as a Predictor for Diabetes Incidence in People with or at Risk of Knee Osteoarthritis: A Longitudinal Analysis from the Osteoarthritis Initiative.

BACKGROUND: This study examined the association between baseline gait speed with incident diabetes mellitus (DM) among people with or at elevated risk for knee OA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Participants from the Osteoarthritis Initiative, aged 45 to 79 years, where included. Participants with or at risk of knee OA from baseline to the 96-month visit were included. Participants with self-reported DM at baseline were excluded. DM incidence was followed over the 4-time points. Gait speed was measured at baseline using a 20-m walk test. Generalized estimating equations with logistic regression were utilized for analyses. Receiver operator characteristic curves and area under the curve were used to determine the cutoff score for baseline speed. RESULTS: Of the 4313 participants included in the analyses (58.7% females), 301 participants had a cumulative incidence of DM of 7.0% during follow-up. Decreased gait speed was a significant predictor of incident DM (RR 0.44, p = 0.018). The threshold for baseline gait speed that predicted incident DM was 1.32 m/s with an area under the curve of 0.59 (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Baseline gait speed could be an important screening tool for identifying people at risk of incident diabetes, and the determined cutoff value for gait speed should be examined in future research.

Prevalence and incidence of osteoarthritis among people living in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common degenerative disease affecting joints with an increasing prevalence around the world and in the Middle East region. Research about the prevalence/incidence of OA in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries was limited with inconsistent findings. Therefore, the aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis for studies reporting the prevalence/incidence of OA among people living in the GCC countries. A comprehensive search was performed using MEDLINE, PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science, and Google Scholar from inception to December 2020 to identify eligible studies examining the prevalence/incidence of OA in the GCC countries. Meta-analysis was conducted, and the Newcastle Ottawa Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies was utilized to evaluate methodological quality. Thirteen studies were included (12 studies reported prevalence and one study reported incidence), with a total of 24,625 participants with an estimated overall prevalence of 16.13% and incidence of 3.5% of OA in the GCC countries. The quality of the included studies was unsatisfactory (six studies), satisfactory (six studies), and good quality (one study). Common risk factors were being older adult, female, obese, and having lower scores for quality of life. This study shows a high prevalence of OA among individuals living in the GCC countries at approximately 16.13%. Only one study reported incidence of 3.5% of OA in this population. This prevalence rate needs to be confirmed in future research with a similar population and at the site of joint OA levels. Common risk factors should be interpreted with caution since only a few studies reported risk factors. Key Points • The pooled prevalence of Osteoarthritis in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries was 16.13% based on 12 included studies.

Combined diabetes and arthritis are associated with declined gait speed.

This study investigated the association of combined arthritis and diabetes, diabetes only, and arthritis only compared with neither with gait speed in the general population. This cross-sectional study included data from the second wave of Midlife in the United States-2 (MIDUS 2) project 4: Biomarker Project, 2004-2009. The MIDUS 2 biomarker project included 1255 individuals aged between 34 and 84 years. Participants were categorized into four groups: combined arthritis and diabetes, diabetes only, arthritis only, or neither. The main outcome measure was gait speed measured by the 50-ft walk test. Covariates included age, gender, body mass index (BMI), depression symptoms, and number of chronic conditions/symptoms. A total of 1255 participants were included with mean age 54.52 ± 11.71, of those 713 (56.8%) participants were females. The results showed that combined arthritis and diabetes was significantly associated with a greater decline in gait speed (B = - 0.11, 95% confidence interval (CI) [- 0.17 to - 0.6], p < 0.001). Arthritis and diabetes were independently significantly associated with decreased gait speed (B = - 0.072, 95% CI [- 0.10 to - 0.043], p < 0.001), (B = - 0.064, 95% CI [- 0.12 to - 0.012], p = 0.015), respectively. Combined arthritis and diabetes was associated with a greater decline in gait speed compared with diabetes only, arthritis only, or neither group. Key Points • Combined arthritis and diabetes were associated with declined gait speed. • Gait speed did not differ between people with arthritis compared with people with diabetes. • We recommended including gait speed assessment in regular clinical visits to capture gait speed declines for further health assessments.