Gazibara, Tatjana (36494484100)Tatjana (36494484100)GazibaraPekmezovic, Tatjana (7003989932)Tatjana (7003989932)PekmezovicKisic Tepavcevic, Darija (57218390033)Darija (57218390033)Kisic TepavcevicTomic, Aleksandra (26654535200)Aleksandra (26654535200)TomicStankovic, Iva (58775209600)Iva (58775209600)StankovicKostic, Vladimir S (57189017751)Vladimir S (57189017751)KosticSvetel, Marina (6701477867)Marina (6701477867)Svetel2025-07-022025-07-022015https://doi.org/10.1111/ggi.12300https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84926155447&doi=10.1111%2fggi.12300&partnerID=40&md5=4c9be63ae9df04c8dd6cff47bfa9342chttps://remedy.med.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/13634The aim of the present study was to estimate fall frequency as well as demographic and clinical factors related to falling in a cohort of Serbian patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Method: The cross-sectional study comprised 300 consecutive patients recruited at the Neurology Clinic in Belgrade, Serbia, from August 2011 to December 2012. Data were acquired though detailed interviews, while a history of falling referred to the period of 6months before testing. After a interview related to the circumstances of the last fall sustained by PD patients, the participants were evaluated with the Mini-Mental State Examination, the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, the Hoehn and Yahr scale, the Falls Efficacy Scale and the Self-Assessment Disability Scale, New Freezing of Gait questionnaire for frequency and impact of freezing, and the Hamilton Depression and the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale. Results: A total of 60% of individuals reported a fall in the 6-month period before testing. Multivariate regression showed that patients with PD who had a Self-Assessment Disability Scale score of ≥56 and Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale total score of ≥69 were 2.04 and 3.32 times more likely to fall, respectively (95% CI 1.10-3.79, P=0.023 for Self-Assessment Disability Scale and 95% CI 1.83-6.00, P=0.001 for Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale). In contrast, a decrease of risk for falling by 57% was observed among those who practiced regular physical activity before the onset of PD (95% CI 0.23-0.80, P=0.008). Conclusion: There is a strong relationship between falling and self-perceived disability, whereas previous physical exercise had a protective effect. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2015; 15: 472-480. © 2014 Japan Geriatrics Society.FallsFrequencyParkinson's diseaseRisk factors