Posturographic measures did not improve the predictive power to identify recurrent falls in community-dwelling elderly fallers

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate if posturography can be considered a recurrent fall predictor in elderly individuals. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study. A total of 124 subjects aged 60 to 88 years were evaluated and divided into two groups—the recurrent fallers (89) and single fallers (35) groups. Patients' sociodemographic characteristics were assessed, and clinical testing was performed. The functional test assessment instruments used were timed up and go test (TUGT), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), five times sit-to-stand test, and Falls Efficacy Scale (to measure fear of falling). Static posturography was performed in a force platform in the following three different situations—eyes open (EO), eyes closed (EC), and EO dual task. RESULTS: There were significant differences between the single and recurrent fallers groups regarding the fear of falling, the Geriatric Depression Scale score, the mean speed calculated from the total displacement of the center point of pressure (COP) in all directions with EO, and the root mean square of the displacement from the COP in the mediolateral axis with EC. Based on the hierarchical logistic regression model, none of the studied posturographic variables was capable of significantly increasing the power of differentiation between the recurrent and single fallers groups. Only TUGT with a cognitive distractor (p<0.05) and the BBS (p<0.01) presented with significant independent predictive power. CONCLUSION: TUGT with a cognitive distractor and the BBS were considered recurrent fall predictors in elderly fallers.

Alcohol and tobacco consumption concordance and its correlates in older couples in Latin America.

AIM: As little is known about alcohol and tobacco consumption concordance between older spouses in low- and middle-income countries, the present study aimed to estimate this in older couples from five Latin American countries. METHODS: This study is a secondary analysis of data collected between 2003 and 2007 by the 10/66 Dementia Research Group, from 1451 couples aged over 65 years from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Peru, Mexico and Puerto Rico. Kappa statistic was used to assess the agreement of the behavior beyond chance, and logistic regression models with meta-analyses were used to estimate the factors associated with concordance. RESULTS: The mean age of the total sample was 74.8 years (SD 6.6). The results showed high levels of agreement rates in relation to drinking and smoking (75.9% and 85% of couples, respectively, did not drink or smoke), which were beyond the agreement expected by chance. Increased age was associated with concordance on both being non-drinkers (OR 1.03, 95% CI 1.01-1.05) and non-smokers (OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.02-1.07); and having a larger social network was associated with less likelihood of the couple being non-drinkers (OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.88-0.98). Attending religious meetings was associated with increased likelihood of the couple being non-smokers (OR 1.19, 95% CI 1.01-1.41). Socioeconomic circumstances were not associated with couples' concordance. CONCLUSIONS: Older Latin American couples have high levels of concordance in drinking and smoking habits, which increases with age, and were not associated with socioeconomic circumstances, but were with social network. This knowledge can assist the development of policies and interventions to promote health among this growing population. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 1849-1857.