Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 13, 2026
Using Motion Capture Technology in the Instrumented Timed Up and Go Test to Detect the Risk of Falling in Aged Adults
Published on: October 25, 2024
Using the Timed Up & Go test in a clinical setting to predict falling in Parkinson's disease
Joe R Nocera1, Elizabeth L Stegemöller, Irene A Malaty
1VA Rehabilitation R&D Center of Excellence, Atlanta VAMC, Atlanta, GA, USA. joenocera@emory.edu
Objective:
To investigate the ability of the Timed Up & Go test to identify patients with Parkinson's disease at risk for a fall.
Design:
Cross-sectional cohort study.
Setting:
Sixteen participating National Parkinson's Foundation Centers of Excellence.
Participants:
A query yielded a total of 2985 records (1828 men and 1157 women). From these, 884 were excluded because of a lack of crucial information (age, diagnosis, presence of deep brain stimulation, disease duration, inability of performing the Timed Up & Go test without assistance) at the time of testing, leaving 2097 patients included in the analysis.
Interventions:
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measures:
The primary outcome measure for this study was falls. The chief independent variable was the Timed Up & Go test.
Results:
The initial model examined the prediction of falls from the Timed Up & Go test, adjusting for all study covariates. The estimated models in the imputed data sets represented a significant improvement above chance (χ(2) range [df=17], 531.29-542.39, P<.001), suggesting that 74% of participants were accurately classified as a faller or nonfaller. The secondary model in which the question of whether the effect of Timed Up & Go test was invariant across disease severity demonstrated 75% of participants were accurately classified as a faller or nonfaller. Additional analysis revealed a proposed cut score of 11.5 seconds for discrimination of those who did or did not fall.
Conclusions:
The findings suggest that the Timed Up & Go test may be an accurate assessment tool to identify those at risk for falls.
