The Comparison of Falling Risk of Elderly by Speed Gait Test Under Dual Tasks Conditions

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to compare elderly fallers and non fallers by balance test under dual tasks conditions. Methods & Materials: This study was a analyse-comparative study. Subjects were chosen from three parks of Tehran. Subjects were 20 older adults with no history of falls (aged 72.60±5 years) and 21 older adults with a history of 2 or more falls in the last one year (aged 74.50±6 Years). All subjects performed speed gait test under 3 conditions (speed gait, speed gait with numbers counter randomly [speed gait cognitive], and speed gait while carrying a full cup of water [speed gait manual]). Data was analysed from multivariate analysis with SPSS 17. Results: The results showed significant difference between elderly fallers and non fallers in fall risk composed dependent variable (P=0.0005), as the non fallers had greater score than elderly fallers. Conclusion: Consequently, we can apply the Gait Speed test under both dual task conditions (Cognitive and Motor) for identification of risk of falling in elderly adults with and without of falling history.

Keywords

• Elderly
• Fall
• Speed gait
• Dual task