Validation Of Fall Risk Assessment System Among Korean Older Adults

The Fall Risk Assessment (FRA) system, comprising a balance measure, a body composition analyzer, and a leg muscle dynamometer, has been newly developed to predict the risk of falls. The FRA system provides comprehensive fall risk factors such as sensory, nervous, integrated balance abilities, and musculoskeletal systems to predict an individual’s fall risk. However, research on the validity of the FRA system is lacking. PURPOSE: To validate the FRA system using evidence of convergent and known-group difference validity. METHODS: Two hundred older adults (72.76 ± 5.61 years; 74% women) participated in this study. Participants’ risk of falls was measured through the FRA system. Also, various assessment tools for sarcopenia (e.g., limb muscle mass, handgrip strength, calf circumference, senior fitness test, and physical performance) were included in this study as a fall risk indicator. The composite FRA score was calculated and produced by weighting 10% to the sensory system score, 20% to the reaction score, 40% to the muscular system score, and 30% to the integrated balance ability score. Participants were classified into one of two groups: low- and high-risk of falls based on the composite FRA score. The relationships between the composite FRA score and the outcomes of the assessment tool for sarcopenia were evaluated using a Pearson product-moment correlation for convergent validity evidence. Also, known-group difference validity evidence of the FRA system was assessed by comparing the sarcopenia outcomes between two groups using an independent t-test. RESULTS: The composite FRA score was correlated with all assessment tools for sarcopenia except for calf circumference (|r| = 0.32-0.61; p < .05). Also, the results of independent t-test showed that the sarcopenia outcome measures from all assessment tools were significantly different between low- and high-risk groups classified by the composite FRA score (p < .05). CONCLUSIONS: The composite FRA score was significantly associated with the sarcopenia scores and also was able to successfully predict the participants’ risk of falls. Convergent and known-group difference validity evidence for using the FRA system was provided. Therefore, the newly developed FRA system can be acceptable to predict the risk of falls for older adults.