Relationships between Balance, Gait, and Falls in Dementia Subtypes: A Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment Study Demans Alt Tiplerinde Denge, Yürüyüş ve Düşmeler Arasındaki İlişkiler: Bir Ayrıntılı Geriatrik Değerlendirme Çalışması
Namik Kemal Medical Journal, cilt.14, sa.3, ss.333-341, 2026 (ESCI, Scopus, TRDizin)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 14 Sayı: 3
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.4274/nkmj.galenos.2026.32848
- Dergi Adı: Namik Kemal Medical Journal
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus, TR DİZİN (ULAKBİM)
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.333-341
- Anahtar Kelimeler: balance; gait, comprehensive geriatric assessment, Dementia, falls
- Açık Arşiv Koleksiyonu: AVESİS Açık Erişim Koleksiyonu
- Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Aim: We aimed to examine the relationship between balance, gait, and falls across the most common dementia subtypes. Materials and Methods: A total of 260 older adults diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), dementia with lewy bodies (DLB), behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia, and normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), along with 338 cognitively healthy controls, were included in this retrospective, cross-sectional study. Comprehensive geriatric assessment results, including comorbidities, medications, balance-gait analysis, and neurocognitive testing, were compared. Results: Statistical differences were observed between controls and dementia subtypes in sex, comorbidity burden, obesity, nutritional status, frailty, sarcopenia, slow walking speed, balance, postural instability (PI), falls, and use of walking assistive devices. DLB diagnosis was associated with falls, PI, and slow walking speed [odds ratio (OR): 4.67, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.37-15.92; p=0.014; OR: 7.38, 95% CI: 1.67-32.50; p=0.008; and OR: 5.99, 95% CI: 1.66-21.53; p=0.006, respectively]. NPH diagnosis was associated with falls, performance-oriented mobility assessment, PI, slow walking speed, and use of walking assistive devices (OR: 5.70, CI: 95% 1.83-17.70; p=0.003; OR: 0.82, CI: 95% 0.73-0.93; p<0.003; OR: 14.87, CI: 95% 3.64-60.68; p<0.001; OR: 13.37, CI: 95% 3.65-49.02; p<0.001; and OR: 4.92, CI: 95% 1.15-21.07; p<0.031, respectively). Conclusion: A comprehensive assessment of balance, gait, and falls, along with understanding their links to various etiological subtypes of dementia, can be useful in many clinical settings, such as monitoring disease progression and identifying at-risk individuals.