Risk of falls in the elderly and its relation with vestibular and cognitive function

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of ENT, Audiology Unit, Al Monira General Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, 6 October University, Egypt.

2 Department of ENT, Audiology Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Egypt.

3 Department of ENT, Geriatrics Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Egypt.

Abstract

Background: Falls are defined as accidental events in which a person falls when his/her center of gravity is lost and no effort is made to restore balance or when this effort is ineffective. Aim and objectives: To investigate relationship between risk of falls in elderly with or witout vestibular disorders and cognitive function. Patients and methods: This cross sectional study was conducted on 30 elderly patients aged ≥ 60 in vestibular clinic at El Demerdash hospital by random sampling.
Results: We divided study group into two groups normal / abnormal cognitive function regarding (MMSE) .All patients had normal peripheral hearing. Three patients had positive Spontaneous nystagmus in VNG test. Two patients had positive Post head shake nystagmus in Video-Nystagmography (VNG) test and only one patient had positive Positional nystagmus. There was a highly statistically significant difference between the two groups in Arabic fall Efficacy scale- international (FES-I) levels and mini-mental state examination (MMSE) score normality and risk of falls. Conclusion: Dizziness, vertigo, and falls are common in older adults. Cognitive decline is a primary factor in determining the risk of falls and has affect in vestibular functions proof that we are increasing effectiveness of vestibular rehabilitation by adding cognitive tasks to improve effect of rehabilitation and assess cognitive function improvement during vestibular rehabilitation. A predictive tool for risk of falls in the elderly could estimate vestibular multimodal processing decline and therefore play an important role in prevention and in assessing rehabilitation targets.

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