Discriminative validity and diagnostic accuracy of Horus® posturographic parameters in individuals with and without...

To assess the discriminative validity and diagnostic accuracy of posturographic parameters from the Horus® in individuals with and without vestibulopathy.

This is a methodological study of discriminative validity and diagnostic accuracy. 153 individuals aged 40-79, of both sexes, were included and divided into Group 1 (with vestibular dysfunction) and Group 2 (without vestibular dysfunction). Instruments on clinical characterization, cognition, physical activity level, and posturography were applied. Discriminative validity was assessed with nonparametric multivariate analyses, the Mann-Whitney test, controlled with Holm adjustment and rank-biserial correlation to estimate effect size. Sensitivity, specificity, area under the curve, and cutoff points were calculated using ROC curves.

The final sample included 78 individuals in Group 1 and 75 in Group 2, with mean ages of 59.36 and 56.48 years, respectively. Significant differences were found between the groups for all dependent variables related to confidence ellipse/limit of stability and mediolateral velocity (p < 0.001), with moderate to large differences (ES > 0.28) and in most of the anteroposterior velocity and sensory analysis (p < 0.005), with small to moderate differences (ES: >0.11 and <0.43). The ROC curve analysis revealed that confidence ellipse/limit of stability and mediolateral velocity exhibited high specificity (84% and 80%) and moderate sensitivity (52.6% and 53.85%). The Vestibular Function parameter demonstrated good sensitivity (70%) and moderate specificity (60.8%), while the Composite Balance Index showed a sensitivity of 79.5% and specificity of 64%.

Horus® posturographic parameters demonstrated moderate to good discriminative ability to differentiate individuals with and without vestibular dysfunction, with high sensitivity for vestibular function and the Composite Balance Index.

3 (cross-sectional study).