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Objective To predict the risk of falls, Fall Risk Assessment (FRA) system has been newly developed to measure multi-systemic balance control among community-dwelling older adults. The aim of this study was to examine the association between FRA and fall-related physical performance tests. Methods A total of 289 community-dwelling adults aged 65 years and older participated in this cross-sectional study. All participants underwent FRA test and physical performance tests such as Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), and Timed Up and Go Test (TUG). Results Participants who were younger, male, highly educated, living with family members, having high body mass index, having high appendicular lean mass index, and having no irritative lower urinary tract syndrome were more likely to have higher FRA scores. SPPB (β=1.012), BBS (β=0.481), and TUG (β=-0.831) were significantly associated with FRA score after adjusting for the variables (all p<0.001). Conclusion FRA composite score was closely correlated with SPPB, BBS, and TUG, suggesting that FRA is a promising candidate as a screening tool to predict falls among community-dwelling elderly people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Accurate measurement of the frequency of falls is challenging because falls can only be self-reported. We hypothesized that quarterly surveys over a year would be superior to a 1-time annual survey for older adults to recall the number of falls they experienced more accurately. Methods: We recruited 317 community-dwelling older adults aged 65 years and older at a senior welfare center in Seoul, Korea. Older adults without cognitive deficit were included for follow-up. All eligible participants were surveyed via telephone every 3 months over 1-year period by trained investigators and asked to recall their total number of falls over the last 1 year at the end of the study. Results: Two hundred forty-seven participants completed all follow-ups, and 58 of them reported at least 1 fall per year. Twenty-nine participants recalled the same number of falls in 4 quarterly surveys and 1-year survey and the other 29 participants recalled differently. Participants who fell more than once (16, 55.2%) had a higher recall discrepancy than those who fell only once (11, 37.9%) according to the sum of quarterly surveys. Among 58 fallers, 56 reported falling in quarterly surveys, and 47 reported falling in the 1-year survey, indicating an approximately 19% reduction in the rate of recall in the 1-year survey. Conclusion: Repeated surveys with a shorter recall period of 3 months or less may yield a more accurate measurement of falls than a survey with a recall period of 1 year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]