Factors related to gait and balance deficits in older adults

Figures & data

Table 1 Sociodemographic, personal characteristics, and frequency distributions of medical conditions of the study sample (N=221)

Variable	N (%)
Age (years)
<55	69 (31.2)
55–65	69 (31.2)
>65	83 (37.6)
Sex
Male	121 (54.8)
Female	100 (45.2)
Educational level
Unable to read/write	90 (40.7)
Primary education (grades 1–6)	46 (20.8)
Secondary education (grades 7–10)	37 (16.7)
High school and above (above grade 10)	48 (21.7)
Smoking
No	143 (64.7)
Yes	78 (35.3)
Number of medical conditions and diseases
0–1	87 (39.4)
2	64 (29.0)
≥3	70 (31.7)
Diabetes mellitus (yes)	52 (23.5)
Hypertension (yes)	74 (33.5)
Stroke (yes)	38 (17.2)
Arthritis (yes)	20 (9.0)
Joint disease osteoarthritis, gout, joint effusion (yes)	38 (17.2)
Psychiatric disorders (yes)	102 (46.1)

Table 2 Cronbach’s α coefficients for the Arabic version of TAB

Variable	α coefficient
Balance total score (items 1–9)	0.962
Gait total score (items 10–16)	0.904
Gait and balance total score (items 1–16)	0.967

Abbreviation: TAB, Tinetti Assessment Battery for gait and balance.

Table 3 The correlation between risk of gait and balance deficits with some medical diseases

Medical diseases	Risk of falls (gait and balance total score)			P-value (χ^2-test)
	High (≤18) (n=116), N (%)	Moderate (19–23) (n=25), N (%)	Low (≥24) (n=80), N (%)
Diabetes mellitus				0.024
No (n=169)	80 (47.6)	21 (12.5)	67 (39.9)
Yes (n=52)	36 (69.2)	4 (7.7)	12 (23.1)
Hypertension				0.072
No (n=146)	69 (47.3)	18 (12.3)	59 (40.4)
Yes (n=74)	47 (63.5)	7 (9.5)	20 (27.0)
Heart failure				0.028
No (n=208)	106 (51.0)	23 (11.1)	79 (38.0)
Yes (n=13)	11 (83.3)	2 (16.7)	0 (0.0)
Stroke				0.000
No (n=182)	83 (45.6)	22 (12.1)	77 (42.3)
Yes (n=39)	34 (87.1)	3 (7.9)	2 (5.3)
Arthritis				0.010
No (n=200)	100 (50.0)	22 (11.0)	78 (39.0)
Yes (n=21)	17 (81.0)	3 (15.0)	1 (5.0)
Joint diseases				0.000
No (n=182)	86 (47.3)	19 (10.4)	77 (42.3)
Yes (n=39)	31 (79.5)	6 (15.8)	2 (5.3)
Psychiatric disorder				0.000
No (n=119)	79 (66.4)	15 (12.6)	25 (21.0)
Yes (n=102)	38 (37.2)	10 (9.9)	54 (53.5)
MMSE score				0.232
Impaired (<25) (n=105; 47.5%)	53 (50.5)	16 (15.2)	36 (34.3)
Not impaired (≥25) (n=116; 52.5%)	62 (53.4)	11 (9.5)	43 (37.1)
DASH score				0.000
<50% (n=141; 63.8%)	47 (33.3)	21 (14.9)	73 (51.8)
≥50% (n=80; 36.2%)	70 (87.5)	4 (5.0)	6 (7.5)

Notes: P-value >0.05, χ²-test, P-value >0.05.

Abbreviations: MMSE, mini–mental state examination; DASH, disability of arm, shoulder, and hand assessment.

Table 4 ORs (95% CI) and P-values for factors effect on the probabilities of gait and balance deficits

Variables	High (≤18)/low (≥24)		Moderate (19–23)/low (≥24)
	OR (95% CI for B)	P-value	OR (95% CI for B)	P-value
Diabetes mellitus	3.63 (1.54–8.54)	0.003	1.14 (0.33–3.97)	0.840
Arthritis	17.2 (2.05–144.6)	0.009	11.4 (1.1–116.5)	0.040
DASH (≥50%)/<50%)	23.95 (9.2–62.65)	0.000	2.5 (0.63–9.88)	0.191

Note: Entered variables to the model (multinomial logistic regression): diabetes, arthritis, and DASH.

Abbreviations: ORs, odds ratios; CI, confidence interval; DASH, disability of arm, shoulder, and hand assessment.