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. 2024 Mar 21;12:1363828. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1363828

Table 2.

Clinical characteristics of the patients.

Variables Fall-risk levels Statistics values p value
Moderate-to-high (n = 48) Low (n = 52)
Timed up and go 14 [12.0; 18.7] 8.5 [7.7; 9.0] Z = −5.24 < 0.001
Body weight (kg) 75 [65; 85] 75 [65; 86] Z = 0.08 0.93
Body height (cm) 168 [164; 173] 170 [165; 176] Z = 1.83 0.06
Barthel index 90 [85; 95] 100 [97; 100] Z = 6.45 < 0.001
Duration of primary disease (month) 12 [3; 42] 24 [5; 60] Z = 1.48 0.14
Sum of comorbidities 3.5 [2; 4] 3 [2; 4] Z = −2.02 0.04
Sum of accompanying symptoms 3 [2; 3] 2 [1; 2] Z = −3.77 0.0002
Primary disease

  • Peripheral arterial disease

 35 (72.9) 22 (42.3) χ2 = 11.31 0.003

  • Carotid artery disease

 6 (12.5) 20 (38.5)

  • Abdominal aortic aneurysm

 7 (14.6) 10 (19.2)
Comorbidities

  • Diabetes

 22 (45.8) 16 (30.8) χ2 = 2.40 0.12

  • Hypertension

 43 (89.6) 36 (69.2) χ2 = 5.06 0.01

  • Atherosclerosis

 38 (79.2) 38 (73.1) χ2 = 0.51 0.48

  • Ischemic stroke

 9 (18.7) 9 (17.3) χ2 = 0.03 0.85

  • Asthma

 3 (6.2) 4 (7.7) χ2 = 0.01 1.00

  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

 5 (10.4) 7 (13.5) χ2 = 0.02 0.76

  • Rheumatoid arthritis

 5 (10.4) 1 (1.9) χ2 = 1.86 0.10

  • Heart failure

 14 (29.2) 11 (21.1) χ2 = 0.85 0.35

  • Kidney failure

 3 (6.2) 2 (3.8) χ2 = 0.008 0.67
Accompanying symptoms

  • Pain in lower limbs at rest

 32 (66.7) 22 (42.3) χ2 = 5.96 0.01

  • Spine pain

 9 (18.7) 7 (13.5) χ2 = 0.52 0.47

  • Abdomen pain

 3 (6.2) 6 (11.5) χ2 = 0.32 0.49

  • Intermittent claudication

 24 (50.0) 14 (26.9) χ2 = 5.64 0.02

  • Dizziness

 11 (22.9) 14 (26.9) χ2 = 0.21 0.64

  • Fainting

 1 (2.0) 4 (7.7) χ2 = 0.68 0.36

  • Blurred vision

 8 (16.7) 8 (15.4) χ2 = 0.03 0.86

  • Incidents of balance disorders/falls

 21 (43.7) 8 (15.4) χ2 = 9.75 0.002
Number of medications taken at one time

  • ≤ 5

 17 (35.4) 31 (59.6) χ2 = 5.85 0.01

  • > 5

 31 (64.6) 21 (40.4)
Wounds or skin damage 17 (35.4) 6 (11.5) χ2 = 8.03 0.004
Pain 29 (60.4) 21 (40.4) χ2 = 4.00 0.04
Numerical rating scale (0–10) 4 [3; 6] 3 [1; 6] Z = −1.11 0.26

Continuous variables are presented as medians (upper and lower quartiles), and categorical variables as absolute numbers (percentages).