Validation of the brazilian version of the berg balance scale for patients with parkinson's disease

• Autor(a) principal: Scalzo, Paula Luciana
• Data de Publicação: 2009
• Outros Autores: Nova, Isabella Costa [UNIFESP], Perracini, Monica Rodrigues [UNIFESP], Sacramento, Daniel Resende Carvalho [UNIFESP], Cardoso, Francisco [UNIFESP], Ferraz, Henrique Ballalai [UNIFESP], Teixeira, Antonio Lúcio [UNIFESP]
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UNIFESP
• Texto Completo: https://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0004-282X2009000500010; https://repositorio.unifesp.br/handle/11600/5258
• topic: Parkinson's disease; postural instability; Berg Balance Scale; doença de Parkinson; instabilidade postural; Escala de Equilíbrio de Berg

Background: Changes in balance occur with the progression of Parkinson's disease (PD). OBJECTIVE: To validate the Brazilian version of the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) for PD patients, determining its reliability and internal consistency and correlating it with PD-specific instruments. METHOD: We evaluated 53 patients (M/F 37/16, mean age±SD, 62±7.9 years) with PD (mean±SD, 7.8±4.4 years). Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), Schwab and England Scale (S&E), Hoehn and Yahr Staging Scale (HY) and BBS were used to assess patients. Statistical analyses for inter-rater reliability, internal consistency and correlations among BBS, UPDRS, S&E and HY were performed. RESULTS: The mean scores±SD on UPDRS and BBS were, respectively, 41.6±17.8 and 47.2±8.2. The median on S&E and HY scales were 80% and 2.5, respectively. The BBS presented a high intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC=0.84) and internal consistency (Cronbrach's α=0.92). There was a statistically significant correlation between BBS and disease duration (r s= -0.520, p<0.001), UPDRS subscales II and III (r s= -0.467, p=0.011; r s= -0.374, p=0.046, respectively), stage of disease (HY; r s= -0.507, p<0.001) and the activities of daily living (S&E; r s=0.492, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The BBS is a promising tool for the assessment of balance in PD, correlating with the stage of disease and the level of independence.