Discriminative ability and clinical utility of the Timed Up and Go (TUG) in identifying falls risk in people with multiple sclerosis: a prospective cohort study

Abstract

Objective:

To investigate discriminative ability and clinical utility of the Timed Up and Go under single- and dual-task conditions between fallers and non-fallers in multiple sclerosis (MS).

Design:

Prospective cohort study.

Setting:

Neurology service in a tertiary hospital.

Subjects:

Participants were 101 people with MS and Expanded Disability Status Scale score of 3–6.5. One participant withdrew after the baseline assessment, and hence the data were analysed for 100 participants.

Interventions:

No specific intervention.

Main Measures:

Timed Up and Go and Timed Up and Go-Cognitive. Three-month prospective diaries recorded falls.

Results:

Mean age was 52.6 (SD 10.7) and 66 were female. Majority of the participants had progressive MS (72) and 73 used a walking aid; 56 participants recorded 791 falls. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve values for Timed Up and Go and Timed Up and Go-Cognitive in distinguishing fallers (person with ⩾1 fall) from non-fallers are 0.60 and 0.57, respectively, and in distinguishing multiple fallers (⩾2 falls) the values are 0.46 and 0.43. A Timed Up and Go score of ⩾9 seconds has a sensitivity of 0.82 and a specificity of 0.34 to identify fallers and a sensitivity of 0.79 and a specificity of 0.27 to identify multiple fallers. A Timed Up and Go-Cognitive score of ⩾11 seconds has a sensitivity of 0.77 and a specificity of 0.30 to identify fallers and a sensitivity of 0.71 and a specificity of 0.26 to identify multiple fallers.

Conclusion:

The Timed Up and Go and Timed Up and Go-Cognitive do not demonstrate sufficient clinical utility or discriminative ability for assessing falls risk in MS.