Early identification of declining balance in higher functioning older adults, an inertial sensor based method

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Biomedical Engineering
• Clinical Biomechanics

Background:

• Clinical balance assessment is infrequent in higher functioning older adults, leading to missed early signs of decline.
• Early detection of balance deficits is crucial for timely interventions and better management of the aging process.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the utility of once-off and year-to-year changes in inertial sensor measurements for identifying balance decline in higher functioning older adults.
• To compare the effectiveness of inertial sensor data with traditional Timed Up and Go (TUG) test metrics.

Main Methods:

• 119 community-dwelling older adults (mean age 72.5 years) underwent inertial sensor-instrumented TUG tests and Berg Balance Scale (BBS) assessments at baseline and one-year follow-up.
• Analysis included temporal, spatio-temporal gait parameters, angular velocity, and turn parameters from sensor data.
• Balance change was quantified using BBS sub-components.

Main Results:

• Changes in inertial sensor parameters over one year strongly correlated with balance decline (e.g., medial-lateral angular velocity OR=0.2).
• Receiver operating characteristic curves showed superior performance for inertial sensor changes (AUC 0.8-0.9) compared to TUG time change (AUC 0.6-0.7).
• Baseline inertial sensor parameters showed associations with declining balance comparable to age and TUG time.

Conclusions:

• Changes in inertial sensor parameters over time effectively reflect balance decline in higher functioning older adults.
• These inertial sensor measures show clinical potential for monitoring balance status and facilitating early identification of deficits in aging populations.