Prevalence and determinants of falls in persons with multiple sclerosis without a clinical disability

Falls are common in persons with Multiple Sclerosis (pwMS) and lead to destructive results, specifically with increasing disability. However, there is only scarce data investigating prevalence and determinants of falls in pwMS without a clinical disability. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate proportion of fallers and related factors in pwMS without a clinical disability.

One hundred and four pwMS with no clinical disability (EDSS≤1.5) were recruited in this cross-sectional study. The outcome measures comprised of the Timed 25-Foot Walk (T25FW), Six Minute Walk Test (6MWT), Timed Up and Go Test (TUG), Multiple Sclerosis Walking Scale (MSWS-12), Single Leg Stance Test (SLS), Activities-Specific Balance Confidence Scale (ABC), Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS), and Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). The number of falls during the last three months was recorded.

Twenty-five percent of the pwMS reported at least one fall in the last three months. The TUG and MSWS-12 scores were significantly greater in the fallers compared to non-fallers (p<0.05). Whereas the fallers had significantly less ABC scores (p<0.05). Increasing TUG and MSWS-12 score and decreasing ABC score was related with increased risk of being classified as a faller adjusting for EDSS score.

The present findings highlight that falls are frequent problem for pwMS, even if they do not have a clinical disability. Therefore, falls prevention strategies are also required in the early stages of the disease in clinical practice. The ABC scale, MSWS-12, and TUG test can be used by the clinicians and researchers to predict potential fallers of the pwMS without a clinical disability.