Timed Up and Go test and gastrointestinal disorders among hospitalized older adults with fall risk

The study aimed to examine the correlation between underlying medical conditions and gait analysis parameters as well as determine the key determiners of fall risk.

This was a cross-sectional study. A total of 120 hospitalized older adults, recruited from a medical center in northern Taiwan, completed three instruments: the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, a demographic questionnaire, and the Morse Fall Scale. The inferential statistics were subjected to the chi-square test, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient analysis to determine the correlations among the demographic variables, gait analysis parameters, and fall risk in elderly inpatients. Logistic regression was used to analyze the predictors of elderly inpatients' fall risk.

The results showed that longer TUG test times, slower walking speeds, or shorter stride lengths are related to higher fall risk. The new finding was that longer TUG test times and slow gait speeds were correlated with lower gastrointestinal as well as hepatobiliary and pancreatic diseases.

This study confirms that gait analysis parameters are significantly correlated with fall risk among older inpatients and that TUG is an important indicator of frailty, prefrailty, or metabolic state. Early detection of the symptoms of gastrointestinal disorders and the provision of adequate nutrition could potentially improve inpatients' gait and prevent falls.