The Korean version of relative and absolute reliability of gait and balance assessment tools for patients with dementia in day care center and nursing home.

[Purpose] This study was aimed to determine the relative and absolute reliability of Korean version tools of the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), the Timed Up and Go (TUG), the Four-Meter Walking Test (4MWT) and the Groningen Meander Walking Test (GMWT) in patients with dementia. [Subjects and Methods] A total of 53 patients with dementia were tested on TUG, BBS, 4MWT and GMWT with a prospective cohort methodological design. Intra-class Correlation Coefficients (ICCs) to assess relative reliability and the standard error of measurement (SEM), minimal detectable change (MDC95) and its percentage (MDC%) to analyze the absolute reliability were calculated. [Results] Inter-rater reliability (ICC(2,3)) of TUG, BBS and GMWT was 0.99 and that of 4MWT was 0.82. Inter-rater reliability was high for TUG, BBS and GMWT, with low SEM, MDC95, and MDC%. Inter-rater reliability was low for 4MWT, with high SEM, MDC95, and MDC%. Test-retest (ICC(2,3)) of TUG, BBS and GMWT was 0.96-0.99 and Test-retest (ICC(2,3)) of 4MWT was 0.85. The test-retest was high for TUG, BBS and GMWT, with low SEM, MDC95, and MDC%, but it was low for 4MWT, with high SEM, MDC95, and MDC%. [Conclusion] The relative reliability was high for all the assessment tools. The absolute reliability has a reasonable level of stability except the 4MWT.

Correlation between Trunk Posture and Neck Reposition Sense among Subjects with Forward Head Neck Postures.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the correlation of abnormal trunk postures and reposition sense of subjects with forward head neck posture (FHP). METHODS: In all, postures of 41 subjects were evaluated and the FHP and trunk posture including shoulder, scapular level, pelvic side, and anterior tilting degrees were analyzed. We used the head repositioning accuracy (HRA) test to evaluate neck position senses of neck flexion, neck extension, neck right and left side flexion, and neck right and left rotation and calculated the root mean square error in trials for each subject. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients and regression analysis were used to assess the degree of correlation between the trunk posture and HRA value, and a significance level of α = 0.05 was considered. RESULTS: There were significant correlations between the HRA value of right side neck flexion and pelvic side tilt angle (p < 0.05). If pelvic side tilting angle increases by 1 degree, right side neck flexion increased by 0.76 degrees (p = 0.026). However, there were no significant correlations between other neck motions and trunk postures. CONCLUSION: Verifying pelvic postures should be prioritized when movement is limited due to the vitiation of the proprioceptive sense of neck caused by FHP.