Physical function assessment of older adults with lower body fractures at 3 months post-discharge from hospital

• Published in: Therapeutics and clinical risk management 2019-01, Vol.15, p.201-210
• Main Authors: Ibrahim, Nurul 'Izzah, Sharkawi Ahmad, Mohd, Zulfarina, Mohamed S, Zaris, Sharifah Nurul Aqilah Sayed Mohd, Nor Azlin, Zainal Abidin, Naina Mohamed, Isa, Mohamed, Norazlina, Mokhtar, Sabarul Afian, Shuid, Ahmad Nazrun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age; Aged patients; Alzheimer's disease; Ambulation aids; Analysis; Fractures; handgrip strength test; Hospitals; lower body fracture; Muscle function; Older people; Original Research; Orthopedics; Osteoporosis; Population; timed up and go test; Vertebrae; Walking
• ISSN: 1176-6336; 1178-203X; 1178-203X
• DOI: 10.2147/TCRM.S189748

Physical function assessment can be performed to assess functional mobility among older adults, especially after a traumatic incident such as lower body fracture (LBF). The objective of this study was to evaluate physical function of older patients with LBF after 3 months of discharge from the hospital. A total of 89 patients were followed up at the discharge phase. Four independent variables were tested: age, sex, type of fracture, and use of a walking aid before fracture. Mobility and strength were assessed with the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test and hand-grip strength (HGS) test, respectively. The majority of the patients were ≥65 years old (64%), female (61.8%), of Chinese ethnicity (50.6%), and had a hip fracture (51.7%). The mean time for TUG test was 26.11 seconds, while mean HGS was 19.02 kg. We found significant differences in TUG test scores with respect to all independent variables tested: age ( =0.026), sex ( =0.011), fracture type (