Low frontal assessment battery score as a risk factor for falling in patients with Hoehn-Yahr Stage III Parkinson's disease: a 2-year prospective study.

Background: Recently, we evaluated factors responsible for falling, including walking speed evaluated with the use of originally designed, suddenly narrowed paths, in patients with Hoehn-Yahr stage III PD. We prospectively studied the same cohort of patients with PD who were followed up for 2 years, to determine predictors of future falls.

Methods: We performed clinical assessments and evaluated balance in 26 patients. A total of 19 variables including PD-related independent variables, balance investigation-related independent variables and gait independent-related variables were evaluated.

Results: The Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) score (p = 0.002), Tinetti balance (p = 0.009), and gait velocity (p = 0.001) were higher in fallers than in non-fallers. On multiple logistic regression analysis, the FAB score was related to falling (odds ratio = 3.328, p = 0.033, 95% confidence interval = 1.104-10.03). On the FAB, the scores of 'inhibitory control' and 'sensitivity to interference' were significantly lower in fallers than in non-fallers.

Conclusions: The use of the originally designed, suddenly narrowed path was the primary reason for demonstrating for the first time that a low FAB score is a risk factor for future falls. Calculation of the FAB score may be useful for predicting the risk of future falls.