Correlation between timed up and go, usual gait speed and dizziness handicap inventory in elderly with vestibular disorders: a retrospective and analytical study

Abstract

Background: This study was done to verify the associations between the usual gait speed (UGS), the Timed Up and Go test (TUG), and the perception of disability in elderly vestibular patients and to identify factors associated with TUG results. Methods: This was a descriptive, analytical, and retrospective study that used data from the clinical records of vestibular patients aged 65 years or older at a rehabilitation service in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The records were examined for the following information: sex, age, type of vestibular disorder, dizziness handicap inventory (DHI) score and performance in the TUG and UGS tests before treatment. Pearson's or Spearman's correlation coefficient was used depending on the distribution of data. Age and the DHI were factored into multiple linear regression models in order to model the tests. A Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the predictive power of age, the DHI total, and the UGS for the sample's TUG results. The level of significance was 5%. Results: We evaluated 118 clinical records, of which 26 were excluded due to incomplete information, leaving data from 92 vestibular patients (73 females; 78.3 ± 5.8 years old). Unilateral vestibular hypofunction and Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo presented the highest prevalence. The total score and the DHI domains showed a significant association with the TUG and UGS values. The age-adjusted DHI had a low predictive power for these same values. Conclusions: The total score and DHI domains have a significant association with the TUG and UGS values for elderly adults with vestibular disorders. The age-adjusted DHI has a low predictive power for TUG and UGS values.

Impact of Common Dizziness Associated Symptoms on Dizziness Handicap in Older Adults

“…Mean DHI score was 5.6 ± 11.2, consistent with the absence of self-reported dizziness handicap in healthy people 70 years and older (11). In patients with vestibular disorders aged 65 years or higher, the DHI score has been shown to have a significant association with the Timed Up and Go test and usual gait speed using the timed 10-meter walk test (12). Older patients with dizziness score higher in DHI than younger patients (13)(14)(15) and also multimorbidity is correlated to higher DHI scores (16).…”

Walking stability in patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo: an objective assessment using wearable accelerometers and machine learning

“…The Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), a 25-item self-assessment scale designed to measure the self-perceived level of handicap associated with the symptom of dizziness, has been proposed to assist in the diagnosis of BPPV and quantify the handicapping effects of dizziness in vestibular disorders [5,6]. Previous studies have shown that there are significant differences in DHI scores between healthy people and BPPV [5,7]. However, DHI is based on self-perception of disease and therefor there is still a lack of an objective tool to assess the severity of BPPV disease associate with dizziness handicapping.…”

A Proposed Method of Converting Gait Speed and TUG Test in Older Subjects

“…In the classic study of Podsiadlo and Richardson, the correlation of TUG and gait speed was r = −0.61 [23]. Pearson's correlation coefficient between the usual gait speed (UGS) and the TUG test was r = −0.66 (p < 0.001) in elderly vestibular patients [44]. Functional gait assessment (FGA) correlated with TUG (r= −0.84, p < 0.001)(Spearman correlation coefficient) in 35 community-dwelling older adults [45].…”