The use of static posturography cut-off scores to predict the risk of falling in older adults.

Background: Falling is the most common accident that occurs in daily living and the second leading cause of unintentional injury death worldwide. The complexity of the risk factors associated with falling makes older people at risk of falling difficult to identify. Research question: The aim of the study was to identify the cut-off scores of standing posturography measures that can be used to predict the risk of falling in older adults. Methods: This observational study involved 267 elderly people aged 65 to 85 years (73.99 SD 7.51) living in south-eastern Poland. The subjects were divided into two groups: a group with a high risk of falling (HRF) and a group without risk of falling (WRF). Postural stability was assessed during eyes-open (EO) and eyes-closed (EC) trials using the two-plate stability platform CQ Stab 2P. Results and Significance: The best accuracy, sensitivity and specificity were observed for sway path, anterior-posterior sway path and medial-lateral sway path with EO and EC. The clinical cut-off score to predict the risk of falling was 350.63 for sway path with EO, 272.64 for anterior-posterior sway path with EO and 159.63 for medial-lateral sway path. The clinical cut-off score for sway path with EC was 436.11. Such screenings in clinical practice may also be useful for detecting typical balance changes in older adults.