Quantitative gait assessment as a predictor of prospective and retrospective falls in community-dwelling older women

The purpose of this investigation was to identify gait-related risk factors associated with both retrospective and prospective falls in 17 community-dwelling older women (mean age 73.4 years). The subjects were videotaped walking at their freely-chosen speed and 21 quantitative kinematic biomechanical variables describing the gait of each individual were computed. Faller status in the preceding year was determined by retrospective self reports and was monitored by an investigator for 10 months after the subjects were videotaped. None of the variables distinguished the retrospective fallers from nonfallers or were a significant predictor of prospective falls. The findings suggest that quantitative kinematic gait variables alone may not identify risk factors associated with falling in community-dwelling older women.