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BACKGROUND: In clinical research as well as good clinical practice increasing importance is placed on standardized and evaluated procedures. They provide information which is important for the prognosis, determination of the need for interventions, determination of treatment goals and evaluation of treatment approaches and outcomes. Furthermore, they serve as justification of the reimbursement for presentation to official bodies. Until now no officially authorized German version of the performance-oriented mobility assessment (POMA) according to Tinetti was available. OBJECTIVES: This article presents a methodically translated German version of the POMA that also includes so far partially unpublished instructions for the examiner and the examined person. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The internationally recognized recommendations for the cross-cultural adaptation of health status measures served as the foundation of the translation process. By means of three translations from the original language into the target language a preliminary consensus version was developed, which was then translated back into the original language by two native speakers. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: With this new and for the first time authorized German translation of the POMA a version of this assessment is available that achieves unification and standardization in German speaking countries and guarantees an improved comparability with international studies. Language: de

To compare the ability of different frailty indexes based on a standardized comprehensive geriatric assessment (FI-CGAs) for predicting adverse outcomes.Prospective cohort study. Geriatric wards of a general hospital.307 hospitalized patients ≥ 65 years.The FI-CGA-10D (potential health deficits in ten functional domains), the FI-CGA-10D+CM (aforementioned potential health deficits and co-morbidity burden) and the FI-CGA-MIHD (multiple, individual potential health deficits, including functional deficits, co-morbid diseases, amongst others) were assessed at baseline during the patients` hospital stay. The FI-CGAs were analyzed as categorical (according to a FI-CGA scoreand ≥ 0.25) and continuous variables. Patients were followed up over 6 months.The FI-CGA-10D, FI-CGA-10+CM and the FI-CGA-MIHD predicted 6-month mortality when expressed as categorical (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC): AUC = 0.611, AUC = 0.637, AUC = 0.616, all p0.050, respectively) or continuous variables (AUC = 0.769, AUC = 0.837, AUC = 0.834, all p0.001, respectively). AUC comparisons showed that all three FI-CGAs exhibited a comparable ability to predict 6-month mortality when the FI-CGAs were expressed as categorical variables (all p0.200) and the FI-CGA-10D+CM and the FI-CGA-MIHD showed a better ability to predict 6-month mortality than the FI-CGA-10D, when the FI-CGAs were expressed as continuous variables (p0.001 and p = 0.007, respectively). None of the FI-CGAs predicted any of the other outcomes, i.e., unplanned re-admission to hospital and a fall during follow-up, irrespective of whether the FI-CGAs were expressed as categorical or continuous variables (all p ≥ 0.050).The more complex FI-CGAs, i.e., the FI-CGA-10D+CM and the FI-CGA-MIHD, revealed better ability to predict 6 month mortality than the more simple FI-CGA, i.e., the FI-CGA-10D.

BACKGROUND : Little is known about the prevalence of falls and the related risk factors in the general population of community- living older people in Germany. OBJECTIVES : To assess the prevalence and related predictors of different types of falls in a sample of community-dwelling 65 years and older people in Germany living in a metropolitan area. Study design and setting prospective cohort study in 622 community dwelling people aged>/=65 years. RESULTS : A total of 107 persons (17.2%) reported falling at least once (occasional fallers), while 36 (5.7%) experienced two or more falls (recurrent fallers) in the last 6 months. Main predictors for all fallers were age (OR 1.8; 95% CI 1.1-3.0), being female (OR 1.7; 95% CI 1.1-2.2), living alone (OR 1.9; 95% CI 1.2-2.9), poor health status (OR 3.3; 95% CI 2.1-5.3), varifocals (OR 1.7; 95% CI 1.0-3.1), disturbance of memory (OR 1.7; 95% CI 1.0-3.0), depression (OR 4.8; 95% CI 2.5-9.2), sleep disturbances (OR 2.7; 95% CI 1.7-4.3), incontinence (OR 2.1; 95% CI 1.3-4.9), dizziness (OR 3.0; 95% CI 1.9-5.0), 3 medical conditions or more (OR 3.3; 95% CI 2.1-5.1), lower physical functioning and mobility. Two of the strongest predictors were reported falls (OR 4.9; 95% CI 3.1-7.7) and recurrent falls (OR 10.0; 95% CI 5.0-20.0) in the last 6 months. CONCLUSION : Older adults living at home should be screened for falls in history and problems in gait and mobility in any anamnesis to identify those who are at risk for falls. Language: en