Table 2.
Comparisons between fallers and non-fallers on biologic (age, sex) and modifiable variables collected at hospital discharge unless otherwise indicated. Values are n (%) or mean/median (SD/IQR). Between-group effect sizes for significant differences only (α = 0.05) are presented as Cohen's d for normally distributed continuous variables and Cliff's δ for skewed continuous variables. Odds ratios (OR) are the effect sizes for the categorical variables.
| Variable | Faller (n = 21) | Non-Faller (n = 24) | p a | Effect sizeb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 60.8 (12.0) | 59.3 (12.0) | 0.659 | |
| Sex, male, n (%) | 13 (62%) | 14 (58%) | 0.807 | |
| MoCA (score out of 30) | 26 (24–27) | 24 (20–26) | 0.045 | δ = −0.35 |
| Aphasia Quotient (score %) | 100 (99–100) | 100 (98–100) | 0.239 | |
| Unilateral neglect, n (%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (4%) | >0.999 | |
| Visual Acuity, n (%) | 0.061 | |||
| Good (≤20/25) | 14 (67%) | 22 (92%) | ||
| Moderately impaired (20/30–20/80) | 7 (33%) | 2 (8%) | ||
| Poor (≥20/100) | 0 | 0 | ||
| Assistive device type, n (%) | ||||
| None | 4 (19%) | 13 (54%) | 0.028 | OR 9.8 |
| Single-point cane | 6 (29%) | 2 (8.5%) | 0.022 | OR 11.4 |
| Quad cane | 7 (33%) | 2 (8.5%) | 0.014 | OR 1.9 |
| Walker | 4 (19%) | 7 (29%) | 0.466 | |
| AFO/ankle brace use (n, %) | 8 (38%) | 5 (21%) | 0.202 | |
| ABC Scale (score out of 100) | 57.8 (18.8) | 71.2 (23.4) | 0.041 | d = 0.63 |
| Walk-12 (score out of 100) | 72.4 (19.7) | 43.3 (25.3) | <0.001 | d = 1.28 |
| Obstacle-crossing test, fail, n (%) | 14 (67%) | 4 (17%) | 0.001 | OR 10.0 |
| 5-m gait speed (m/s) | 0.47 (0.24) | 0.74 (0.36) | 0.007 | d = 0.86 |
| Dual-task gait speed (m/s) | 0.25 (0.15–0.44) | 0.62 (0.31–0.91) | 0.003 | δ = −0.51 |
| 2 MWT distance (m) | 64.2 (38.9) | 102.8 (50.1) | 0.009 | d = 0.86 |
| 5× sit to stand (reps/s) | 0.17 (0.10) | 0.24 (0.12) | 0.034 | d = 0.66 |
| Step Test (reps) | ||||
| Paretic limb | 0 (0–5) | 7 (5–11) | <0.001 | δ = −0.62 |
| Non-Paretic limb | 5 (0–7) | 8 (6–13) | 0.002 | δ = −0.51 |
Abbreviations: 2 MWT, 2-Minute Walk Test; ABC, Activities-specific Balance Confidence; AFO, ankle-foot orthosis; OR, odds ratio; Walk-12, Walking Impact Scale.
p values are differences between fallers and non-fallers determined using independent t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, chi-square, or logistic regression.
Cohen’s d: 0.2, 0.5 and 0.8 correspond to small, medium, and large effects; Cliff’s δ ranges from −1 to +1 where values closer to ±1 are larger effect sizes.