Which test has better accuracy for screening for falls in community-dwelling older adults: handgrip strength or five-times sit-to-stand test?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1590/Keywords:
Accidental Falls, Hand StrengthAbstract
Various instruments can be used to screen for
falls in older adults, notably the five-times sit-to-stand test
(5XSST) and handgrip strength (HGS). However, knowledge
on which of the two presents greater predictive ability
to identify an association with fall history is missing. This
knowledge may help identify older adults at higher risk of
falling and enable the proposal and implementation of early
prevention and rehabilitation strategies. Hence, this study
sought to determine which strength test presents better
accuracy for screening for falls in community-dwelling older
adults: HGS or 5XSST. A cross-sectional study was conducted
with a probabilistic sample of 308 community-dwelling older
adults. Dependent variable consisted of self-reported fall
history in the past 12 months; predictive variables included
the performance on the 5XSST and HGS tests. Statistical
analysis used Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC)
curve. HGS showed better accuracy for screening for falls
in community-dwelling older women. Older women with HGS ≤ 16.05 kgf [AUC: 0.69 (95%CI: 0.54–0.81)] are more likely to
have a history of falls. No predictive values were found for HGS in
men, nor for 5XSST in either men or women. HGS is an important
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