THE FUNCTIONAL GAIT ASSESSMENT AND THE SENSORY ORGANIZATION TEST: A COMPARISON Eric Anson*1,2, Nick Cronan2 1. Kinesiology, University of Maryland, College Park; 2. Lake Charles Memorial Hospital PURPOSE: The purpose of this research study is to compare Functional Gait Assessment (FGA) scores with scores of an established balance test, the Sensory Organization Test (SOT), and to determine the relationship between FGA scores and age and FGA scores and fall history. BACKGROUNDS/SIGNIFICANCE: Falls remain a significant concern for the aging population as they are at increased risk for injury and death resulting from a fall. To strengthen the validity of newly designed tests, comparisons with existing and valid tests should be performed. SUBJECTS: There are 16 male (45.7%) and 19 female (54.3%) subjects with balance deficits having a mean age of 66.63 (SD = 13.95). There are 11 male (28.2%) and 28 female (71.8%) control subjects with a mean age of 32.15 (SD = 15.05). The subjects with balance disorders were classified as having either a peripheral vestibular disorder (n = 13) or a central nervous system disorder (n = 22) based on diagnostic criteria and evaluation by physician. All subjects with balance disorders were recruited from a pool of patients referred to a hospital based outpatient physical therapy clinic for rehabilitation. Control subjects were recruited from clinic staff and family members of staff. METHODS AND MATERIALS: After providing informed consent all subjects completed a brief medical history questionnaire including fall history. The subjects were tested with the SOT as part of Computerized Dynamic Posturography (CDP) according to established manufacturer protocols. Subjects were then tested using the Functional Gait Assessment (FGA). Safety harnesses were worn by all subjects for CDP testing and gait-belts were used during FGA testing. All testing occurred in the same session. Computer generated composite test scores for the SOT and overall scores of the FGA were used for statistical analysis. ANALYSES: The data have been analyzed using MatLab® (version R2007a, MathWorks) and Microsoft Excel (2000). Spearman correlation coefficients were used to determine the relationship, if any exists, between the FGA and SOT, the FGA and age, and the FGA and fall history. Group differences between fallers and non-fallers were determined with t-tests. Alpha levels were set to 0.05 for all analysis. RESULTS: Overall results for all subjects demonstrate a high positive correlation between the FGA and SOT (R = 0.713, p = 0.0000), high negative correlation between the FGA and age (R= -0.786, p= 0.0000), and moderate negative correlation between the FGA and fall history (R = -0.573, p = 0.0000). T-test results for the FGA test score demonstrate group differences for fallers and non-fallers (t(72) = -5.8544, p = 0.00003, 95% CI = -12.6509, -6.0788). Subgroup correlations were performed and are reported in detail in the results section. CONCLUSIONS: Overall the FGA demonstrates high correlation with the SOT. The correlation between the FGA and SOT decreased to moderate levels when only patients were included in the analysis. The FGA appears to be a valid measure of balance for typical patients encountered in tertiary balance centers. The present data support previous results that FGA scores vary inversely with age in the healthy population and extend that relationship to patients with balance disorders. The FGA appears to discriminate between fallers and non-fallers. Future research should examine a larger sample size to generate cut off scores for increased fall risk. FUNDING SOURCE: No funding was provided in direct support of this research study. The authors collected data during patient treatment sessions or on their own time outside of work. The authors do not have any potential monetary or material gain resulting from this study. KEYWORDS: Sensory Organization Test, Balance test, Balance and falls Correlations between the FGA and the SOT, Age, and Fall History Subject Group SOT Fall History Age All Subjects FGA R=0.713 p=0.0000 R=-0.573 p=0.0000 R=-0.786 p=0.0000 Controls FGA R=0.20 p=0.20 R=-0.15 p=0.35 R=-0.31 p=0.051 Peripheral Vestibular FGA R=0.37 p=0.22 R=-0.49 p=0.09 R=-0.66 p=0.013 CNS Balance Disorders FGA R=0.65 p=0.001 R=-0.64 p=0.0014 R=-0.73 p=0.0001 All Balance Disorders FGA R=0.53 p=0.00096 R=-0.58 p=0.0002 R=-0.50 p=0.002 Results for Spearman’s correlation tests between the FGA and the SOT, the FGA and Fall History, the FGA and Age with correlation coefficient and p value. FGA scores for Fallers and Non-Fallers Mean FGA score and (SD) 95% CI Fallers 15.5 (6.6) 12.6-18.3 Non-Fallers 24.8 (4.6) 23.6-26.1 Mean FGA scores and SD for fallers and non-fallers with 95% confidence intervals for the mean. 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