The Aachen Mobility and Balance Index to measure p

Authors: M Knobe M Giesen S Plate G GradlDietsch B Buecking D Eschbach W van Laack HC Pape

Publish Date: 2016/06/10

Volume: 42, Issue: 5, Pages: 537-545

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Abstract

The most commonly used mobility assessments for screening risk of falls among older adults are rating scales such as the Tinetti performance oriented mobility assessment POMA However its correlation with falls is not always predictable and disadvantages of the scale include difficulty to assess many of the items on a 3point scale and poor specificity The purpose of this study was to describe the ability of the new Aachen Mobility and Balance Index AMBI to discriminate between subjects with a fall history and subjects without such events in comparison to the Tinetti POMA ScaleFor this prospective cohort study 24 participants in the study group and 10 in the control group were selected from a population of patients in our hospital who had met the stringent inclusion criteria Both groups completed the Tinetti POMA Scale gait and balance component and the AMBI tandem stance tandem walk tenmeterwalktest sittostand with five repetitions 360° turns timedupandgotest and measurement of the dominant hand grip strength A history of falls and hospitalization in the past year were evaluated retrospectively The relationships among the mobility tests were examined with Bland–Altmananalysis Receiveroperated characteristics curves sensitivity and specificity were calculatedThe study showed a strong negative correlation between the AMBI 17 points max highest fall risk and Tinetti POMA Scale 28 points max lowest fall risk r = −078 p  0001 with an excellent discrimination between communitydwelling older people and a younger control group However there were no differences in any of the mobility and balance measurements between participants with and without a fall history with equal characteristics in test comparison AMBI vs Tinetti POMA Scale AUC 0570 vs 0598 p = 0762 The Tinetti POMA Scale cutoff 20 points showed a sensitivity of 045 and a specificity of 069 the AMBI a sensitivity of 064 and a specificity of 046 cutoff 5 pointsThe AMBI comprises mobility and balance tasks with increasing difficulty as well as a measurement of the dominant handgrip strength Its ability to identify fallers was comparable to the Tinetti POMA Scale However both measurement sets showed shortcomings in discrimination between fallers and nonfallers based on a selfreported retrospective fallsstatusMatthias Knobe Meike Giesen Sarah Plate Gertraud GradlDietsch Benjamin Bücking Daphne Eschbach Walter van Laack and HansChristoph Pape declare that they have no competing interests No funds were received by any of the authors in support of this study

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