Diagnostic Accuracy and Cutoff Values of Clinical Balance and Mobility Tests for Identifying Recurrent Fallers Among Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Case-Control Study

Aims Recurrent falls in older adults are a critical concern due to their significant physical, emotional, and economic impacts. Identifying accurate, practical assessment tools to differentiate older adults with a history of recurrent falls remains challenging. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of clinical balance and mobility tests for distinguishing older adults with a history of recurrent falls.Methods In this cross-sectional case-control study, 305 participants aged 60 years and above (153 recurrent fallers and 152 non-fallers) underwent assessment using clinical balance and mobility tests.Results Receiver Operating Characteristic curve analyses were used to determine optimal cutoff values for discriminating between groups. The One-Leg Standing Test demonstrated acceptable discriminatory capacity (AUC = 0.71), whereas the Tandem Standing Test showed limited discriminatory utility (AUC = 0.56 to 0.59). Sensitivity and specificity varied, with the One-Leg Standing Test achieving the highest sensitivity (88.24%).Conclusions The findings suggest that simple, resource-efficient tools may have clinical utility in distinguishing older adults with a history of recurrent falls from those without such a history.