Comparative utility of the BESTest, Mini-BESTest, and Brief-BESTest for predicting falls in individuals with Parkinson disease: A cohort study

Abstract

Background. The newly developed Brief-Balance Evaluation System Test (Brief- BESTest) may be useful for measuring balance and predicting falls in individuals with Parkinson disease (PD). Objectives. The purposes of this study were: (1) to describe the balance performance of those with PD using the Brief-BESTest, (2) to determine the relationships among the scores derived from the 3 versions of the BESTest (ie, full BESTest, Mini-BESTest, and Brief-BESTest), and (3) to compare the accuracy of the Brief- BESTest with that of the Mini-BESTest and BESTest in identifying recurrent fallers among people with PD. Design. This was a prospective cohort study. Methods. Eighty participants with PD completed a baseline balance assessment. All participants reported a fall history during the previous 6 months. Fall history was again collected 6 months (n=51) and 12 months (n=40) later. Results. At baseline, participants had varying levels of balance impairment, and Brief-BESTest scores were significantly correlated with Mini-BESTest (r=.94, P