Can postural instability tests improve the prediction of future falls in people with Parkinson’s disease beyond knowing existing fall history?

This study sought to determine whether the backward-stepping Push and Release (P&R) Test and the Pull Test, or comprehensive batteries of postural instability (the Mini-BESTest and Brief-BESTest), significantly improve the prediction of future falls beyond knowing a person’s baseline fall history. Complete data were available for 43 of 80 participants with PD. At baseline, participants completed the BESTest (which was scored for all versions and includes the P&R Test), the Unified PD Rating Scale (UPDRS) motor section (which includes the Pull Test), and the participants’ reported falls experienced in the previous 6 months. Participants were classified as recurrent fallers if they reported more than one fall in the 12 months subsequent to baseline. Stepwise logistic regressions determined whether the P&R Test, Pull Test, Brief-BESTest, Mini-BESTest, or UPDRS motor score improved predictions of recurrent fallers independent of baseline fall-group status. Independently, all assessments significantly predicted future recurrent fallers, but only the Mini-BESTest and Brief-BESTest significantly improved predictions of future recurrent fallers independent of baseline fall-group status. The results suggest that, although single tests of reactive postural control do not offer significant predictive benefit, predictions of future recurrent fallers with PD do benefit from a balance examination in addition to knowing whether an individual has a recent history of falls.