Research Article

Predictive Factors of Concerns about Falling in People with Parkinson’s Disease: A 3-Year Longitudinal Study

Table 1

Participants’ characteristics at baseline and univariable linear regression analyses with FES-I scores at the 3-year follow-up as the dependent variable, N = 151.

Independent variablesMeanMissingUnivariable regression analyses
(SD)nB (95% CI); β value

Age (years)68 (9.0)0.629 (0.397, 0.860); 0.403<0.001
Sex (women = 1), n (%)53 (35.1)6.28 (1.64, 11.0); 0.2140.008
Motor symptoms (UPDRS III)28.9 (12.4)0.380 (0.207, 0.553); 0.335<0.001
Fluctuations (yes), n (%)92 (61.7)24.08 (−0.549, 8.70); 0.1420.084
ADL: needing help (PADLS, yes), n (%)33 (21.9)16.2 (11.4, 21.1); 0.481<0.001
Mobility device used outdoors (yes), n (%)69 (45.7)12.3 (8.24, 16.5); 0.439<0.001
Walking difficulties (Walk-12G)14.8 (10.6)20.900 (0.743, 1.06); 0.683<0.001
History of falls past 6 months (yes), n (%)64 (42.7)16.72 (2.25, 11.2); 0.2370.003
Freezing of gait (FOGQsa i.3, yes), n (%)79 (52.3)13.0 (9.00, 17.1); 0.465<0.001
Dual task: balance problems (yes), n (%)93 (61.6)14.6 (10.5, 18.7); 0.508<0.001
Orthostatism (NMSQuest i.20, yes), n (%)78 (51.7)7.70 (3.34, 12.1); 0.2750.001
Living alone (yes), n (%)30 (19.9)5.21 (−0.398, 10.9); 0.1490.068
Cognitive functioning (MoCA)25.7 (3.12)2−1.33 (−2.02, −0.637); −0.298<0.001
General self-efficacy (GSE)29.7 (6.19)1−0.811 (−1.15, −0.466); −0.357<0.001
Pain (yes), n (%)97 (64.2)8.37 (3.84, 12.9); 0.287<0.001
Depressive symptoms (GDS-15)2.69 (2.84)42.05 (1.30, 2.80); 0.411<0.001
Fatigue (NHP-EN, yes), n (%)79 (52.3)10.5 (6.26, 14.7); 0.374<0.001

FES-I = Falls Efficacy Scale-International (16–64, higher = worse); UPDRS = unified Parkinson’s disease rating scale (part III = motor examination, 0–108, higher = worse); ADL = activities of daily living; PADLS = Parkinson’s disease ADL scale (those who scored >2 were classified as needing help from others in daily activities); Walk-12G = generic walk-12 (0–42, higher = worse); FOGQsa = self-administered version of the freezing of gait questionnaire, (those who scored >0 were classified as having freezing of gait); NMSQuest = nonmotor symptoms questionnaire; MoCA = Montreal Cognitive Assessment (0–30, higher = better); GSE = general self-efficacy scale (10–40, higher = better); GDS-15 = geriatric depression scale (0–15, higher = worse); NHP-EN = energy subscale of the Nottingham health profile (those who affirmed at least one out of three dichotomous questions were classified as having fatigue). i = item number. All dichotomous variables are scored as 0 or 1 (1 = yes).