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Gait variability in community-dwelling older adults.
Tuesday,2012-11-06 12:05 America/Los_Angeles — eenright
| Title | Gait variability in community-dwelling older adults. |
| Publication Type | Journal Article |
| Year of Publication | 2001 |
| Authors | Brach, JS, Berthold, R, Craik, R, VanSwearingen, JM, Newman, AB |
| Journal | J Am Geriatr Soc |
| Volume | 49 |
| Issue | 12 |
| Pagination | 1646-50 |
| Date Published | 2001 Dec |
| ISSN | 0002-8614 |
| Keywords | Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Body Height, Body Weight, Cross-Sectional Studies, Disability Evaluation, Female, Gait, Humans, Male, Residence Characteristics, Risk Factors, Time Factors, Walking |
| Abstract | <p><b>OBJECTIVES: </b>To describe gait variability at usual and fast walking speeds in community-dwelling older adults and to describe the effects of increasing gait speed on gait variability.</p><p><b>DESIGN: </b>Cross-sectional, descriptive study.</p><p><b>SETTING: </b>The Cardiovascular Health Study at the University of Pittsburgh.</p><p><b>PARTICIPANTS: </b>Ninety-five community-living older adults, 54 women and 41 men, age 65 and older (mean age +/- standard deviation 79.4 +/- 3.37).</p><p><b>MEASUREMENTS: </b>Gait measured at participant's usual and fast walking speed collected using an instrumented walkway. Step-length and step-width variability were determined using the coefficient of variation.</p><p><b>RESULTS: </b>Step-length variability was greatest in those who walked the slowest (r = -0.66, P < .001); step-width variability was smallest in those who walked the slowest (r -0.37, P < .001). Individuals who could not increase their walking speed (<0.10 m/second) on command had an increase in step-length variability and a decrease in step-width variability, whereas those who could increase their speed (>0.10 m/second) had an increase in step-width variability when walking at a faster speed.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS: </b>Step-length and step-width variability have opposite associations with gait speed in older adults. Improvement in step-length and step-width variability with attempted acceleration might be a key factor to examine in future studies of disability risk and therapeutic interventions.</p> |
| DOI | 10.1046/j.1532-5415.2001.t01-1-49274.x |
| Alternate Journal | J Am Geriatr Soc |
| PubMed ID | 11843998 |
| Grant List | HL 87079 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States HL 87080 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States HL 87081 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States HL 87082 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States HL 87083 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States HL 87084 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States HL 87085 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States HL 87086 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States N01-HC-85079 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States N01-HC-85080 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States N01-HC-85081 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States N01-HC-85082 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States N01-HC-85083 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States N01-HC-85084 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States N01-HC-85085 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States TG32AG00181 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States |