OU graduate has balance study published in prestigious ‘Journal of Gerontology’

Dr. Shweta Kapur - a physical therapist, recent Ph.D. graduate, and graduate research and teaching assistant in the Department of Human Movement Science at Oakland University - had her study, "Incongruence between Self-report and Performance-based Measure of Balance in Community-Dwelling Adults," published in the prestigious Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, a leading journal in the field of aging and health and flagship journal of the Gerontological Society of America.

"Having my Ph.D. dissertation work published in the Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences is an incredible honor and a deeply meaningful milestone in my academic journey," Dr. Kapur said. "I'm delighted to contribute to the growing body of knowledge focused on improving health outcomes for older adults."

The study, done on a nationally representative sample of 4,939 individuals aged 40 years or more, investigated the congruency between self-reported balance information and performance-based balance measure among community-dwelling adult population of the United States. It also reported the predictors of congruency between the self-reported and performance-based balance measures.

"In simpler terms, we compared what these individuals said about having a balance problem to their performance on a clinical test to check for balance," Dr. Kapur said. "Upon complex analysis, we found that close to seven in every 10 individuals who had clinically detectable balance issues were unaware of their balance problems."

Dr. Kapur said the outcome of the study is important because it indicates that researchers cannot rely on patient-reported information alone when screening for balance problems.

"This work can also assist in identifying populations that are at higher risk of providing incongruent information about the balance issues and can help in development of better screening protocols for balance problems among the middle-aged and elderly individuals," she said. "I hope it inspires continued work in this vital area."

While Dr. Kapur served as the primary author of the study, she is grateful to her co-authors - Dr. Kwame S. Sakyi (Oakland University), Dr. Joshua L. Haworth (Oakland University), Dr. Prateek Lohia (Wayne State University), and Dr. Daniel J. Goble (Oakland University) - for their support, collaboration and mentorship.

"I'm particularly grateful to my mentors, Dr. Goble and co-mentor, Dr. Sakyi, who supported my vision for this interdisciplinary project, which combined my background in physical therapy and healthcare utilization with the expertise in research methodology and epidemiological research that I gained during my Ph.D. at Oakland University," Dr. Kapur said. "I would also like to acknowledge the OU Provost Graduate Student Research Grant, which supported some of this research."

You can read more about the study here.