Predicting fallers in a communitybased sample of people with Parkinson's disease

In this study, 63 older people with a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (mean age 71 years) and who were living in the community were recruited via their GP practices. A questionnaire was used to elicit details of falls and near-falls in the previous 12 months. The subjects were then assessed in a gait laboratory, where details of their movements were studied. Three months after this initial assessment, subjects were contacted again by telephone to find out whether or not they had fallen during this period. The results indicated that a history of multiple falls in the previous year was highly predictive of falling in the following three months. It is recommended that primary healthcare workers use careful questioning to elicit information about previous falls when assessing such patients.23 references.