Table 1.
Demographic characteristics of perturbation-related female fallers (PFs) versus perturbation-related female non-fallers (PNFs)
| Characteristic | PF (N = 10) | PNF (N = 49) | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years | 79.35±4.35 | 78.71±5.40 | t = −0.35 | 0.728 |
| Reported a fall in last year, % (n) | 80.0 (n = 8) | 38.7 (n = 19) | χ2 = 5.67 | 0.017 |
| Mini-Mental State Examination | 29 (26, 30) | 29 (25, 30) | z = −1.34 | 0.178 |
| Number of diseases diagnosed | 2 (0, 4) | 1 (0, 8) | z = 0.37 | 0.465 |
| Number medications/day | 3.5 (1, 7) | 4 (1, 10) | z = −0.30 | 0.759 |
| Height, cm | 153.40±6.09 | 156.36±8.04 | t = 1.10 | 0.276 |
| Weight, kg | 61.90±8.87 | 65.95±13.67 | t = 0.89 | 0.373 |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 26.26±3.01 | 29.94±4.44 | t = 0.46 | 0.644 |
| Fall Efficacy Scale (FES-I) | 29 (16, 58) | 19 (16, 46) | z = 1.97 | 0.048 |
| Late Life Function | ||||
| Overall function | 53.65 (50.32, 100) | 65.02 (45.22, 79.35) | z = −2.21 | 0.026 |
| Upper extremity function | 71.19 (57.64, 100) | 77.50 (51.27, 100) | z = −1.00 | 0.324 |
| Basic lower extremity function | 61.84 (54.05, 100) | 81.17 (53.35, 100) | z = −2.43 | 0.014 |
| Advanced lower extremity function | 47.25 (33.12, 100) | 57.00 (34.59, 81.36) | z = −1.92 | 0.054 |
Values are means ± 1 SD where a variable was normally distributed using an independent t test (age, weight, height, and BMI), and medians (Min, Max) where a variable was not normally distributed using a Mann-Whitney U test (Mini-Mental State Examination score, number of diagnosed diseases, number of medications per day, Fall Efficacy Scale, and Late Life Function scores), and χ2 for number of retro-fallers. Significant differences between PFs and PNFs (p value <0.05).
t indicates group comparison based on t test; z indicates group comparison based on Mann-Whitney U test, and χ2 indicates group comparison based on χ2 testing.