Abstract: Objective To compare the prediction of Functional Gait Assessment (FGA) and Berg balance scale (BBS) for fall among community-dwelling older adults aged 75~85 years old. Methods 162 older adults randomly selected from 3 communities in Beijing were evaluated with FGA and BBS. They were divided as fallers and nonfallers according to the history of fall during the last year. Results The scores of FGA and BBS increased significantly in the nonfallers compared with the fallers (P<0.001). The total scores of FGA correlated with the scores of BBS (r=0.723, P<0.001). The total scores of FGA significantly correlated with the scores of items of FGA (P<0.01), except that of walking with eyes closed (P=0.31). According to the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) Curve, the area under the curve was 0.901 for FGA, and 0.872 for BBS. According to the Youden index, the cutoff value of FGA was 19.5, with sensitivity of 85.5% and specificity of 81.2%. The cutoff value of BBS was 48.5, with sensitivity of 78.3% and specificity of 83.3%. Conclusion FGA is more effective than BBS for predicting the fall in community-dwelling older adults, which is more sensitive and similarly specific.

Key words: fall, community, elderly, Functional Gait Assessment, Berg balance scale