{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T14:27:49Z","timestamp":1785421669571,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":17,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,10]],"date-time":"2026-04-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1775779200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Victor Babes University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara"},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00afdp487","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Diagnostics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Fear of falling is common in older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), particularly in those with balance and mobility impairment. The Falls Efficacy Scale\u2014International (FES-I) is widely used to quantify concern about falling but requires local validation. We aimed to validate the Romanian version of the FES-I in older adults with T2DM. Methods: In this validation study, 124 consecutive outpatients with T2DM aged &gt; 60 years completed the Romanian FES-I at baseline (v1) and at one-month follow-up (v2). Internal consistency was assessed with Cronbach\u2019s alpha and item\u2013total correlations. Test\u2013retest reliability was evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and the Bland\u2013Altman agreement. Construct validity was examined by correlations with the Fear-of-Falling Questionnaire\u2014Revised (FFQ-R), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Timed Up and Go (TUG), and single-leg stance (SLS). Discriminative performance was assessed via ROC analyses. Results: Mean FES-I scores were 30.8 \u00b1 11.4 (v1) and 31.1 \u00b1 11.6 (v2). Internal consistency (Cronbach\u2019s alpha 0.945\u20130.947) and test\u2013retest reliability (ICC 0.972; 95% CI 0.956\u20130.983) were excellent, with minimal bias. FES-I correlated strongly with FFQ-R (rho = 0.787) and moderately with function (BBS rho = \u22120.631; TUG rho = 0.547; SLS rho = \u22120.498; all p &lt; 0.001). Discrimination was good for BBS (AUROC = 0.779) and TUG (AUROC = 0.800). Conclusions: The Romanian FES-I demonstrates excellent reliability and good validity in older adults with T2DM, with low measurement error and clinically interpretable change thresholds. It can be used for fear-of-falling quantification in routine care and research, including longitudinal monitoring and evaluation of interventions in Romanian patients with diabetes.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/diagnostics16081135","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,10]],"date-time":"2026-04-10T07:55:12Z","timestamp":1775807712000},"page":"1135","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Validation of Falls Efficacy Scale Instrument in Romanian Adults with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Monocenter, Prospective Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Bianca","family":"Iliescu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Doctoral School of Medicine, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"},{"name":"Sebes Municipal Hospital, 515800 Sebes, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-6952-2171","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andreea","family":"Herascu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Doctoral School of Medicine, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"},{"name":"Centre for Molecular Research in Nephrology and Vascular Disease, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"},{"name":"Department of Diabetes, \u201cPius Brinzeu\u201d Emergency Hospital, 300736 Timisoara, Romania"},{"name":"Second Department of Internal Medicine, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5204-6954","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Laura","family":"Gaita","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Molecular Research in Nephrology and Vascular Disease, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"},{"name":"Department of Diabetes, \u201cPius Brinzeu\u201d Emergency Hospital, 300736 Timisoara, Romania"},{"name":"Second Department of Internal Medicine, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Vlad-Florian","family":"Avram","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Molecular Research in Nephrology and Vascular Disease, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"},{"name":"Department of Diabetes, \u201cPius Brinzeu\u201d Emergency Hospital, 300736 Timisoara, Romania"},{"name":"Second Department of Internal Medicine, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7904-6073","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Adina","family":"Braha","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Molecular Research in Nephrology and Vascular Disease, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"},{"name":"Department of Diabetes, \u201cPius Brinzeu\u201d Emergency Hospital, 300736 Timisoara, Romania"},{"name":"Second Department of Internal Medicine, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0993-6206","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bogdan","family":"Timar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Molecular Research in Nephrology and Vascular Disease, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"},{"name":"Department of Diabetes, \u201cPius Brinzeu\u201d Emergency Hospital, 300736 Timisoara, Romania"},{"name":"Second Department of Internal Medicine, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wang, C.S., Pai, Y.W., Lin, C.H., Lee, I.T., Chen, H.H., and Chang, M.H. 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