Journal ArticleDOI
Head impulse test abnormalities and influence on gait speed and falls in older individuals.
TLDR
It was observed that half of the community-dwelling older individuals in this study had evidence of vestibular dysfunction, which was significantly associated with gait speed and fall risk in adjusted analyses.Abstract:
OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of vestibular dysfunction in older adults using the head impulse test (HIT) and to assess the independent influence of HIT abnormalities on gait speed and fall risk in older individuals. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Tertiary care academic medical center. PATIENTS: Fifty community-dwelling individuals age 70 and older. INTERVENTIONS: HIT (abnormal HIT defined as right or left HIT abnormality), visual acuity, monofilament testing, and grip strength. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Gait speed on a 4-meter walk and a history of falls (including number of falls) in the last 1 and 5 years. RESULTS: The participants' mean age was 77 years (range, 70-95 yr); 52% were female subjects. Fifty percent of participants had an abnormal HIT. An abnormal HIT was significantly associated with a 0.23 m/s reduction in gait speed (p = 0.042), 0.44 more falls in the last 1 year (p = 0.047), and a 5-fold increase in the odds of falling in the last 5 years (p = 0.024) in multivariate analyses adjusted for age, sex, and other balance and fall risk factors. CONCLUSION: We observed that half of the community-dwelling older individuals in our study had evidence of vestibular dysfunction, which was significantly associated with gait speed and fall risk in adjusted analyses. Screening for vestibular impairment using the simple HIT and directing targeted vestibular therapy may be important to reduce gait impairment and fall risk in older individuals. Language: enread more
Citations
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
Bilateral vestibulopathy: Diagnostic criteria Consensus document of the Classification Committee of the Bárány Society.
Michael Strupp,Ji Soo Kim,Toshihisa Murofushi,Dominik Straumann,Joanna C. Jen,Sally M. Rosengren,Charles C. Della Santina,Herman Kingma +7 more
TL;DR: The diagnostic criteria for bilateral vestibulopathy (BVP) by the Classification Committee of the Bárány Society is described, which requires bilaterally significantly impaired or absent function of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR).
Journal ArticleDOI
Vertigo and Dizziness in the Elderly
TL;DR: In this mini review, age-related degenerative processes that affect balance are presented and diagnostic and therapeutic approaches oriented to the specific impaired system, including visual, proprioceptive, and vestibular pathways, are proposed.
Journal ArticleDOI
Association Between Vestibular and Cognitive Function in U.S. Adults: Data From the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
TL;DR: This study suggests that Vestibular dysfunction partially mediates the association between age and cognitive impairment, and the cognitive impairment that results from vestibular loss may contribute to ADL difficulty and falls in older individuals.
Journal ArticleDOI
Association Between Visuospatial Ability and Vestibular Function in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging.
Robin T. Bigelow,Yevgeniy R. Semenov,Carolina Trevino,Luigi Ferrucci,Susan M. Resnick,Eleanor M. Simonsick,Qian Li Xue,Yuri Agrawal +7 more
TL;DR: To investigate the relationship between vestibular loss associated with aging and age‐related decline in visuospatial function, a large number of mice were fitted with EMTs and the objective was to establish a baseline level of EMT activity in the central nervous system.
Journal ArticleDOI
Epidemiology of vestibulo-ocular reflex function: data from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging.
TL;DR: Age-related decline in VOR function in individuals aged 80 years and older is reported and the significance of these VOR abnormalities to functional and mobility outcomes in older individuals is established.
References
More filters
Book
The Government Printing Office
TL;DR: In this article, the official journals of government are produced at their 1.5 million square foot plant, the largest industrial facility in the District and significant issues of outdated plant and equipment.
Journal ArticleDOI
Gait variability and fall risk in community-living older adults: A 1-year prospective study
TL;DR: Findings show both the feasibility of obtaining stride-to-stride measures of gait timing in the ambulatory setting and the potential use ofgait variability measures in augmenting the prospective evaluation of fall risk in community-living older adults.
Journal ArticleDOI
New visual acuity charts for clinical research
TL;DR: Three new visual acuity charts facilitate quantitative use ofVisual acuity test results by providing high-contrast lettering on washable white polystyrene on which to test right and left eyes.
Journal ArticleDOI
Sensorimotor integration in human postural control
TL;DR: Overall results show that the simple act of standing quietly depends on a remarkably complex sensorimotor control system.
Journal ArticleDOI
Gait Changes in Older Adults: Predictors of Falls or Indicators of Fear?
TL;DR: In a cohort of ambulatory older adults, whether spatial‐temporal measures of foot placement during gait can predict the likelihood of future falls or whether these measures are more likely to be indicative of adaptations associated with pre‐existing fear of falling is investigated.