A study of the discriminative properties of the Six-Spot Step Test in people with Parkinson´s disease at risk of falling

Clinical tests that can discriminate between people at risk of falling and those not at risk are warranted. The discriminative properties of the Six-Spot Step Test was investigated in people with Parkinson’s disease at risk of falling. METHODS:Eighty-one participants with a median age of 69 years (Q1–Q3:63–74) and a median Hoehn and Yahr score of 2.5 (Q1–Q3:2–3) completed the Six-Spot Step Test and the Timed “Up and Go” test. A mini-BESTest score of 19 or below was used as a cut-off for defining risk of falling, and a receiver operating characteristics curve was generated to determine clinical relevant cut-off scores. RESULTS:A cut-off score of 7.0 and 6.8 seconds identified people not at risk of falling, while 11.1 and 9.4 seconds identified people at risk of falling for the Six-Spot Step Test and the Timed “Up and Go” test, respectively. When maximizing the sensitivity and specificity a cut-off score of 9.2 (accuracy of 84%) and 8.1 seconds (accuracy of 70%) was found for the Six-Spot Step Test and the Timed “Up and Go” test, respectively. CONCLUSION:The Six-Spot Step Test discriminates accurately between people with Parkinson’s disease at risk of falling and people not at risk.