Evaluating the fall risk among elderly population by choice step reaction test
DOI: 10.2147/cia.s106606
archive: archived pipeline: cataloged verified
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Summary
This study investigates the relationship between central nervous system (CNS) control, muscle strength, and fall risk in the elderly population. While reduced muscle strength is a well-established risk factor for falls, the role of CNS processing in fall prevention remains underexplored. The researchers aimed to determine if premotor time (PMT) and motor time (MT) derived from a choice step reaction test (CSRT), along with maximal isokinetic torque, could effectively differentiate between elderly individuals who fall and those who do not. The study included 140 healthy older adults (92 females, 48 males) aged 55–75 years, recruited from community centers in Shanghai. Participants were categorized into "faller" (n=56) and "nonfaller" (n=84) groups based on self-reported falls within three months following the testing period. The experimental protocol involved a CSRT where participants responded to random visual stimuli by stepping left or right as quickly as possible. Electromyography (EMG) was recorded from the tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius muscles to calculate PMT (perception and decision-making time) and MT (muscle execution time). Additionally, maximal isokinetic torque of the knee and ankle joints was measured at 60°/s. The results indicated that PMT was significantly greater in fallers (456.08 ms) compared to nonfallers (387.72 ms). A significant interaction was observed between fall status and limb direction: nonfallers exhibited faster PMT in the left limb than the right, whereas fallers showed no asymmetry between limbs. A similar pattern was observed for MT. Fallers also demonstrated significantly lower maximal isokinetic torque at the knee and ankle joints. Logistic regression analyses revealed that PMT had a higher correct prediction rate for fall risk than MT or maximal isokinetic torque. Furthermore, decreased maximal isokinetic torque was associated with increased PMT and the disappearance of limb asymmetry in high-risk individuals. The findings suggest that PMT is a sensitive and useful parameter for assessing fall risk in the elderly, potentially more effective than traditional measures of muscle strength or overall reaction time. The study highlights that impaired CNS processing, reflected by delayed PMT and loss of limb asymmetry, is closely linked to fall risk. These results imply that interventions targeting neural processing speed and balance control, rather than solely focusing on muscle strength, may be crucial for fall prevention strategies in older adults.
Provenance
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| Stage | Outcome | Tool | Model | Prompt | Attempts | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| discover | success | OpenAlex-citations | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-18 |
| archive | success | openalex | — | — | 5 | 2026-06-25 |
| extract | success | cached | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-26 |
| clean | success | clean | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-18 |
| chunk | success | chunk | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-18 |
| embed | success | embed | Qwen/Qwen3-Embedding-8B | — | 1 | 2026-06-18 |
| promote | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-18 |
| summarize | success | llm | qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant | summ-v5 | 1 | 2026-06-26 |
| tag | success | vector_similarity | — | — | 6 | 2026-06-18 |
| verify | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-26 |
Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-26; verification: verified.
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