Table 6.
Sensitivity and specificity of fall risk questions and tools, by sex and age group1.
| Sensitivity |
Specificity |
Positive Likelihood Ratio |
Negative Likelihood Ratio |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | 95% Confidence Interval |
% | 95% Confidence Interval |
% | 95% Confidence Interval |
% | 95% Confidence Interval |
||
| Tool | |||||||||
| Three Key Questions | Sex | ||||||||
| Male | 64.0 | 56.6, 71.4 | 66.5 | 60.0, 73.0 | 1.9 | 1.4, 2.6 | 0.5 | 0.4, 0.7 | |
| Female | 72.2 | 66.2, 78.1 | 50.2 | 43.7, 56.8 | 1.4 | 1.2, 1.8 | 0.6 | 0.4, 0.7 | |
| Age | |||||||||
| 65–74 | 65.2 | 59.0, 71.4 | 64.2 | 58.3, 70.2 | 1.8 | 1.4, 2.4 | 0.5 | 0.4, 0.7 | |
| 75–84 | 67.8 | 59.4, 76.2 | 48.2 | 40.0, 56.4 | 1.3 | 1.0, 1.7 | 0.7 | 0.5, 0.9 | |
| 85+ | 95.5 | 88.4, 100.0 | 52.4 | 35.2, 69.6 | 2.0 | 1.2, 3.4 | 0.1 | 0.1, 0.1 | |
| Stay Independent | Sex | ||||||||
| Male | 51.1 | 43.4, 58.8 | 83.0 | 77.8, 88.2 | 3.0 | 1.9, 4.8 | 0.6 | 0.4, 0.9 | |
| Female | 59.0 | 52.5, 65.5 | 69.4 | 63.4, 75.5 | 1.9 | 1.4, 2.6 | 0.6 | 0.4, 0.8 | |
| Age | |||||||||
| 65–74 | 47.7 | 41.2, 54.2 | 78.9 | 73.8, 84.0 | 2.3 | 1.5, 3.3 | 0.7 | 0.5, 1.0 | |
| 75–84 | 61.4 | 52.6, 70.2 | 73.6 | 66.4, 80.8 | 2.3 | 1.5, 3.6 | 0.5 | 0.3, 0.8 | |
| 85+ | 89.3 | 78.8, 99.7 | 62.1 | 45.4, 78.9 | 2.4 | 1.2, 4.5 | 0.2 | 0.1, 0.3 | |
| American Geriatric/ British Geriatric | Sex | ||||||||
| Male | 56.2 | 48.6, 63.9 | 72.4 | 66.3, 78.6 | 2.0 | 1.4, 2.9 | 0.6 | 0.4, 0.9 | |
| Female | 62.9 | 56.5, 69.3 | 61.0 | 54.6, 67.4 | 1.6 | 1.2, 2.1 | 0.6 | 0.5, 0.8 | |
| Age | |||||||||
| 65–74 | 55.8 | 49.3, 62.2 | 68.3 | 62.5, 74.0 | 1.8 | 1.3, 2.4 | 0.6 | 0.5, 0.9 | |
| 75–84 | 62.4 | 53.7, 71.1 | 62.4 | 54.4, 70.3 | 1.7 | 1.2, 2.4 | 0.6 | 0.4, 0.9 | |
| 85+ | 80.8 | 67.5, 94.1 | 70.1 | 54.3, 85.9 | 2.7 | 1.3, 5.8 | 0.3 | 0.1, 0.6 | |
| short Falls Efficacy Scale | Sex | ||||||||
| Male | 16.3 | 10.6, 22.0 | 92.6 | 88.9, 96.2 | 2.2 | 1.0, 5.1 | 0.9 | 0.4, 2.1 | |
| Female | 27.1 | 21.2, 33.0 | 86.6 | 82.1, 91.0 | 2.0 | 1.2, 3.5 | 0.8 | 0.5, 1.5 | |
| Age | |||||||||
| 65–74 | 17.9 | 12.9, 22.9 | 91.6 | 88.1, 95.0 | 2.1 | 1.1, 4.2 | 0.9 | 0.5, 1.8 | |
| 75–84 | 26.0 | 18.1, 33.9 | 84.5 | 78.6, 90.4 | 1.7 | 0.9, 3.3 | 0.9 | 0.4, 1.7 | |
| 85+ | 41.0 | 24.4, 57.5 | 94.4 | 86.5, 100.0 | 7.3 | 0.9, 57.2 | 0.6 | 0.1, 4.9 | |
| Fell in the past year | Sex | ||||||||
| Male | 39.9 | 32.3, 47.5 | 86.0 | 81.2, 90.8 | 2.8 | 1.7, 4.9 | 0.7 | 0.4, 1.2 | |
| Female | 40.6 | 34.1, 47.1 | 86.4 | 81.9, 90.9 | 3.0 | 1.8, 5.0 | 0.7 | 0.4, 1.1 | |
| Age | |||||||||
| 65–74 | 40.1 | 33.8, 46.5 | 87.8 | 83.8, 91.9 | 3.3 | 2.0, 5.5 | 0.7 | 0.4, 1.1 | |
| 75–84 | 36.7 | 28.0, 45.4 | 84.9 | 79.0, 90.8 | 2.4 | 1.3, 4.6 | 0.7 | 0.4, 1.4 | |
| 85+ | 53.9 | 37.1, 70.7 | 79.2 | 65.3, 93.2 | 2.6 | 0.9, 7.3 | 0.6 | 0.2, 1.6 | |
| Fallen in the past 12 months | Sex | ||||||||
| Male | 43.8 | 36.2, 51.5 | 83.1 | 77.9, 88.2 | 2.6 | 1.6, 4.2 | 0.7 | 0.4, 1.1 | |
| Female | 46.4 | 39.7, 53.0 | 83.7 | 78.8, 88.5 | 2.8 | 1.8, 4.5 | 0.6 | 0.4, 1.0 | |
| Age | |||||||||
| 65–74 | 43.2 | 36.8, 49.7 | 85.1 | 80.7, 89.5 | 2.9 | 1.8, 4.6 | 0.7 | 0.4, 1.1 | |
| 75–84 | 43.1 | 34.2, 52.0 | 83.6 | 77.6, 89.7 | 2.6 | 1.5, 4.7 | 0.7 | 0.4, 1.2 | |
| 85+ | 67.1 | 51.2, 83.1 | 69.1 | 53.1, 85.1 | 2.2 | 1.0, 4.8 | 0.5 | 0.2, 1.1 | |
1
Calculated using population weights.