Objective: To develop falls risk assessment test that is appropriate for community-dwelling Thai elderly, and to verify this test with the second set of population.
Material and Method: A cross-sectional study was performed in 270 elderly living in Bansrang subdistrict, Ayuttaya province to identify a combination of variables that effectively predicted fall status in order to develop the Thai-FRAT. The Thai-FRAT was validated with a second set of population whose cohort data had been collected during 1997 ? 2002 in the study named ?CERB project?. One hundred fifty six elderly subjects were recruited in the analysis.
Results: The newly developed Thai-FRAT was composed of six factors including ?History of falls?, ?Impaired body balance?, ?Female?, ?Specific medication use?, ?Impaired visual acuity?, and ?Thai style house?. Possible score of the Thai-FRAT ranged from 0-11. The best cutoff score identified by the receiver operating curve analysis was 4. Sensitivity and specificity were 0.92 and 0.83 respectively. The Thai-FRAT could predict recurrent fall after two years among the elderly subjects who had had a history of fall during the past six months in the second set of population. Association between the Thai-FRAT score and mortality was also shown.
Conclusion: The Thai-FRAT is the first fall risk assessment test developed for Thai community-dwelling elderly. It is a valid and reliable measure of fall risk. An effect of environment on falls among Thai elderly was clarified in the present study.

Keyword : Falls, Risk assessment test, Elderly, Community, Thai