Towards the Use of Instrumented Tests for Screening the Risk of Falling in Patients With Chronic Illness.

Summary

In patients with chronic illness, screening for falls and their health consequences are major public health issues. Muscle weakness, gait and balance disorders are among the most common risk factors for falling. Assessing these parameters would thus be a crucial step in the evaluation of the risk of falling, allowing to more precisely orient the management strategy. Combining inertial unit sensors with clinically validated tests can provide additional information to improve the assessment of fall risks. We therefore propose to constitute a monocentric exploratory study, testing a prognostic screening tool, in patients suffering from a chronic pathology, in order to assess the risk of falling in this population.

Considering the relationship between muscle weakness and the risk of falling, we can assume that a deficit in muscle strength will result in less vertical acceleration which could point to a muscle cause of the balance disorder and thus allow a finer detection of the risk of falling. On the other hand, we hypothesize that spinal static disorders in chronic pathologies and in particular osteoarthritis, as well as balance disorders linked to impaired deep sensitivity lead to an increase in oscillations of the trunk when walking which can cause postural balance disorders thus increasing the risk of falling.

Conditions

• Joint Osteoarthritis
• Atherosclerosis of the Distal Arteries, Without Gangrene
• Parkinson Disease
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Unspecified
• Obesity, Unspecified

Interventions

DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

Exploratory physiopathology study, including non-invasive functional explorations carried out in patients with chronic pathology.

In the Mobility Exploration Unit of the University Hospital of Clermont-Ferrand, patients with chronic illnesses undergo a complete assessment of their physical capacities as well as their nutritional status. For the purpose of this protocol, patients will have to perform 2 functional tests, namely the TM6 and the TUG, while being equipped with inertial sensor units (mTUG® and mGAIT®). The data of the gait analysis, posturography and strength analyses as well as the questionnaires' scores will be taken into account in this research. At 6 months and at 1 year, occurrence of a fall will be recorded in order to prospectively monitor this parameter.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University Hospital, Clermont-Ferrand

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Emmanuel COUDEYRE · University Hospital, Clermont-Ferrand

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

DIAGNOSTIC

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

90 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2020-08-28

Primary Completion

2022-11-16

Completion

2022-11-16

Countries

• France

Study Locations