Investigating the Mini-BESTest's construct validity in elderly with Parkinson's disease

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Movement Disorders
• Rehabilitation Science

Background:

• The Mini-BESTest is designed to evaluate balance deficits in people with Parkinson's disease (PwPD).
• Limited research exists on the construct validity of the Mini-BESTest specifically within the PwPD population.
• This study addresses the need for robust validation of the Mini-BESTest in PwPD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate the Mini-BESTest by comparing its performance in people with Parkinson's disease (PwPD) against healthy controls.
• To assess if the Mini-BESTest can distinguish between PwPD with varying motor severity (mild vs. moderate).
• To determine if the Mini-BESTest differentiates between PwPD with a history of recurrent falls versus non-recurrent falls.
• To examine the convergent and divergent validity of the Mini-BESTest against related and unrelated functional measures.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 105 people with Parkinson's disease (PwPD) and 47 healthy controls participated.
• Participants were categorized by motor severity (mild/moderate) and fall history (recurrent/non-recurrent).
• Key outcome measures included the Mini-BESTest, Timed Up and Go (TUG), and Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) Part II.
• Statistical analyses employed independent t-tests and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient.

Main Results:

• People with Parkinson's disease (PwPD) scored significantly worse on the Mini-BESTest compared to healthy controls (P<.001).
• Individuals with moderate motor severity demonstrated poorer Mini-BESTest scores than those with mild severity (P<.001).
• No significant difference in Mini-BESTest scores was observed between recurrent and non-recurrent fallers (P=.096).
• Spearman's rho revealed moderate correlation with TUG (ρ=-.470) and poor correlation with UPDRS Part II (ρ=-.211), supporting convergent and divergent validity, respectively.

Conclusions:

• The Mini-BESTest demonstrates adequate construct validity for measuring dynamic balance in people with Parkinson's disease (PwPD) experiencing mild-to-moderate motor symptoms.
• The Mini-BESTest's utility in distinguishing fall risk based on fall history (recurrent vs. non-recurrent) requires further investigation.
• The findings support the Mini-BESTest as a valuable tool for assessing balance in specific PwPD populations.