Banca de DEFESA: LUANA DANTAS DA SILVA

Uma banca de DEFESA de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : LUANA DANTAS DA SILVA
DATE: 17/12/2025
TIME: 09:00
LOCAL: Remoto
TITLE:

POSTURAL CONTROL AND FUNCTIONALITY IN ADULT AND OLDER
ADULTS WITH AND WITHOUT CHRONIC VESTIBULAR DYSFUNCTION

 

KEY WORDS:

Vestibular Disorders. Postural Balance. Dizziness. Vertigo. Reference Values.
Assessment. Daily Activities.

 

PAGES: 110
BIG AREA: Ciências da Saúde
AREA: Fisioterapia e Terapia Ocupacional
SUMMARY:

Introduction: Individuals with vestibular dysfunction may present symptoms
that compromise performance in activities of daily living (ADL). Instruments
that measure Postural balance (PB) can assess confidence in body balance
as well as functional performance. However, there is a lack of studies
analyzing the discriminative validity and diagnostic accuracy of the Activities-
Specific Balance Confidence Scale (ABC Scale) and the Mini Balance
Evaluation Systems Test (MiniBESTest) in differentiating individuals with and
without VD. Objectives: 1. To evaluate the impact of daily activities, using the
Vestibular Disorders Activities of Daily Living Scale (VADL), in individuals with
chronic vestibulopathy, considering sociodemographic, clinical, and functional
variables. 2. To evaluate the discriminative validity and diagnostic accuracy of
the ABC Scale and the MiniBESTest, as well as their domains, in
discriminating individuals with and without VD. Methods: This is a clinical
study with an analytical quantitative design. Participants of both sexes, aged
40–79 years, were distributed into two groups: without a VD diagnosis and
with complaints of postural imbalance and/or dizziness, and with a VD
diagnosis and complaints of imbalance and/or dizziness/vertigo. Participants
were evaluated using instruments that included: clinical characterization,
cognition (PCL); daily activities (VADL); physical activity level (IPAQ); balance
confidence (ABC Scale); and PB assessment (MiniBESTest) with percentage
scores. The study was divided into two manuscripts: 1 - presenting
comparative analyses of the VD group; and 2 - referring to a methodological
study of discriminative validity and diagnostic accuracy, based on COSMIN
and STARD guidelines including both groups. 1 - Descriptive analyses were
performed, using the Mann-Whitney or Kruskal-Wallis tests. 2 - Descriptive
data were presented, Mann-Whitney tests were used, and effect size was
calculated using the rank-biserial correlation coefficient (r). Diagnostic
accuracy of the ABC Scale, MiniBESTest, and their domains for detecting the
presence or absence of VD was measured using the Receiver Operating
Characteristic (ROC) curve, determining the cutoff point (PC), sensitivity,
specificity, accuracy, positive and negative predictive values, true positives
(TP), false positives (FP), false negatives (FN), and true negatives (TN).
Statistical significance was considered at p < 0.05. Results: 1 - Seventy-two
individuals with chronic vestibulopathy were evaluated. Significant
associations were found (p<0.05) between total VADL scores and female sex,

education up to nine years, symptom frequency (daily/weekly), self-reported
memory/concentration problems, insomnia, and fear of falling. Similarly, the
functional, locomotion, and instrumental subscales were associated with
relevant clinical variables. 2 -

Conclusions: 1 - Knowledge of the variables influencing
dizziness and postural imbalance is essential for the prevention and
appropriate management of vestibular rehabilitation in these individuals,
aiming to optimize ADL performance. 2 -

 

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Presidente - 2090691 - JULIANA MARIA GAZZOLA
Interna - 4374835 - KARYNA MYRELLY OLIVEIRA BEZERRA DE FIGUEIREDO RIBEIRO
Externa ao Programa - 1639565 - LIDIANE MARIA DE BRITO MACEDO FERREIRA - UFRNExterna ao Programa - 3473456 - SABRINA GABRIELLE GOMES FERNANDES MACEDO - UFRNExterna à Instituição - ERIKA BARIONI MANTELLO
Externa à Instituição - VANESSA DA NÓBREGA DIAS