Methods: The community-dwelling older people (65 and older) were recruited from different social senior groups and from the Hacettepe University Hospital Geriatric Outpatient Clinic. 102 patients were screened and 62 subjects with unilateral knee OA were evaluated. We used a standardized questionnaire, consisting of sociodemographic datas, cognitive function, and history of falls during the previous year. Thirty one elderly with a history of falls and also 31 without a history of falls were

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... ied. Physical performance was evaluated with Short Physical Performance Test (SPPT). Walking speeds were measured with Six Metre Walk Test. Fear of falling (FOF) was assessed by a question (Do you have fear of falling? yes/no) Results: There were no differences between faller and non-faller elderly people in terms of age (76±8,4 years) and BMI (30,4±3,1 kg/m 2 ). A statistically significant difference was found in terms of walking speeds and short physical performance test (p<0,005, p<0,005). Conclusions: As a result of this study, it was shown that the elderly people with knee OA and who have history of falls present worse performance in functional mobility and require a longer period of time to walking. References: [1] Huang MH, Lin YS, Yang RC, Lee CL. A comparison of various therapeutic exercises on the functional status of patients with knee osteoarthritis. Semin Arthritis Rheum 2003; 32: 398-406. [2] Hinman RS, Bennell KL, Metcalf BR, Crossley KM. Balance impairments in individuals with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis: a comparison with matched controls using clinical tests.