Comparison of three balance and mobility tests in older adults

Uvod: Tinettijeva usmerjena ocena premičnosti (angl. performance oriented mobility assessment – Tinetti POMA) je instrument, s katerim ocenjujemo hojo in ravnotežje. Pogosto uporabljena instrumenta sta Bergova lestvica za oceno ravnotežja (angl. Berg balance scale – BBS) in časovno merjeni test vstani in pojdi (angl. Timed up and go test – TUG), to so testi, s katerimi lahko pri starejših odraslih spremljamo stanje ravnotežja. Namen: Namen diplomskega dela je bil primerjati test Tinetti POMA s testoma BBS in TUG z namenom ugotoviti njihovo sočasno veljavnost in korelacijo med omenjenimi testi. Prav tako je bil namen primerjati rezultate testa Tinetti POMA preiskovancev, diagnosticiranih z demenco in preiskovancev brez demence. Metode dela: V raziskavi je sodelovalo 31 preiskovancev, od tega 21 žensk in 10 moških. V času izvedbe je bil najmlajši preiskovanec star 74 let in najstarejši 93 let. Povprečna starost vseh je bila 84,7 leta. Z demenco je bilo diagnosticiranih osem preiskovancev. Vsi preiskovanci so bili ocenjeni s testi Tinetti POMA, BBS in TUG. Podatke smo statistično obdelali in pri tem uporabili Shapiro-Wilkov test, Spearmanov test in Mann-Whitneyev U-test. Rezultati: Preiskovanci so v naključnem vrstnem redu izvedli vse tri teste. Povprečna ocena za Tinetti POMA B je bila 11,35 ± 3,56 točke. Povprečna ocena za Tinetti POMA G je bila 9,06 ± 2,59 točke. Povprečni čas, ki so ga preiskovanci potrebovali za izvedbo časovno merjenega testa vstani in pojdi, je znašal 17,51 s ± 9,61 s. Pri BBS za oceno ravnotežja je povprečna ocena znašala 33,87 ± 13,64 točke. Obstaja močna statistično značilna povezanost med Tinetti POMA B in BBS. Med Tinetti POMA G in TUG obstaja srednje močna statistično pomembna povezanost. Rezultati preiskovancev z demenco so nižji v primerjavi z rezultati preiskovancev brez demence. Razprava in zaključek: Ugotovili smo, da obstaja statistično značilna močna povezanost med Tinetti POMA B in BBS. Obstaja tudi statistično značilna podobnost med Tinetti POMA G in TUG. Gre za srednje močno povezanost. Rezultati nekaterih študij so nasprotovali ugotovitvam naše študije. Dokazana je povezava med daljšim časom pri TUG in nižjimi ocenami pri Tinetti POMA. Oba testa sta priporočljiva za vrednotenje okvar ravnotežja in premičnosti. Vsi preiskovanci, ki so bili diagnosticirani z demenco in so sodelovali v naši študiji, so imeli nižje ocene pri ocenjevanju s testom Tinetti POMA.Introduction: The Tinetti performance oriented mobility assessment test (Tinetti POMA) is an instrument used to assess walking and balance. It is a commonly used instrument, the Berg balance scale (BBS) and the timed up and go test (TUG) are tests which may alter the state of balance of older adults. Purpose: The purpose of this diploma paper was to compare the Tinetti POMA test with BBS and TUG. It was also intended to compare the results of the Tinetti POMA test of subjects with dementia and without it. Methods: The study involved 31 subjects, of whom 21 were women and 10 were men. At the time of the trial, the youngest subject was 74 years old and the oldest was 93 years old. The average age of all was 84.7 years. Eight subjects were diagnosed with dementia. All subjects were assessed with the Tinetti POMA test, BBS, and TUG. Data were statistically processed using the Shapiro-Wilk test, the Spearman test, and the Mann-Whitney U test. Results: Subjects performed all three tests in random order. The average score for Tinetti POMA B was 11.35 ± 3.56 points. The average score for Tinetti POMA G was 9.06 ± 2.59 points. The average time taken by subjects to perform the timed get up and go test was 17.51 s ± 9.61 s. On the Berg balance scale, the mean score was 33.87 ± 13.64 points. Based on the results of statistical processing, we conclude that there is a strong statistically significant association between Tinetti POMA B and BBS. There is a moderately strong statistically significant association between Tinetti POMA G and TUG. The results of subjects with dementia are lower compared to the results of subjects without dementia. Discussion and conclusion: There are statistically significant strong associations between Tinetti POMA B and BBS. The following hypothesis, which claims that there is a statistically significant similarity between Tinetti POMA G and TUG, was also confirmed. It’s a medium-strong connection. The results of some studies contradicted the discovery of our study. However, it has been proven that longer time at TUG and lower scores at Tinetti POMA are associated. Both tests are recommended to detect balance and primary defects. All subjects who were diagnosed with dementia and participated in our studies did have lower grades in the Tinetti POMA test