Dataset Information

Gait Speed Predicts Incident Disability: A Pooled Analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Functional independence with aging is an important goal for individuals and society. Simple prognostic indicators can inform health promotion and care planning, but evidence is limited by heterogeneity in measures of function.

Methods

We performed a pooled analysis of data from seven studies of 27,220 community-dwelling older adults aged 65 or older with baseline gait speed, followed for disability and mortality. Outcomes were incident inability or dependence on another person in bathing or dressing; and difficulty walking ¼ - ½ mile or climbing 10 steps within 3 years.

Results

Participants with faster baseline gait had lower rates of incident disability. In subgroups (defined by 0.2 m/s-wide intervals from <0.4 to ? 1.4 m/s) with increasingly greater gait speed, 3-year rates of bathing or dressing dependence trended from 10% to 1% in men, and from 15% to 1% in women, while mobility difficulty trended from 47% to 4% in men and 40% to 6% in women. The age-adjusted relative risk ratio per 0.1 m/s greater speed for bathing or dressing dependence in men was 0.68 (0.57-0.81) and in women: 0.74 (0.66-0.82); for mobility difficulty, men: 0.75 (0.68-0.82), women: 0.73 (0.67-0.80). Results were similar for combined disability and mortality. Effects were largely consistent across subgroups based on age, gender, race, body mass index, prior hospitalization, and selected chronic conditions. In the presence of multiple other risk factors for disability, gait speed significantly increased the area under the receiver operator characteristic curve.

Conclusion

In older adults, gait speed predicts 3 year incidence of bathing or dressing dependence, mobility difficulty, and a composite outcome of disability and mortality.

SUBMITTER: Perera S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4715231 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Gait Speed Predicts Incident Disability: A Pooled Analysis.

Perera Subashan S Patel Kushang V KV Rosano Caterina C Rosano Caterina C Rubin Susan M SM Satterfield Suzanne S Harris Tamara T Ensrud Kristine K Orwoll Eric E Lee Christine G CG Chandler Julie M JM Newman Anne B AB Cauley Jane A JA Guralnik Jack M JM Ferrucci Luigi L Studenski Stephanie A SA

The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences 20150822 1

<h4>Background</h4>Functional independence with aging is an important goal for individuals and society. Simple prognostic indicators can inform health promotion and care planning, but evidence is limited by heterogeneity in measures of function.<h4>Methods</h4>We performed a pooled analysis of data from seven studies of 27,220 community-dwelling older adults aged 65 or older with baseline gait speed, followed for disability and mortality. Outcomes were incident inability or dependence on another ...[more]

PMID: 26297942

Similar Datasets

Project description:Pathophysiological changes caused by pneumonia may influence physical functioning in older adults. This study was a secondary analysis of the Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders (LIFE) Study. The LIFE Study included 1635 individuals over an average follow-up of 2.6 years at eight clinical sites during 2010-2013. Adults ≥70 years-old with mobility limitations (Short Physical Performance Battery score ≤9) were randomized to a physical activity (exercise) intervention or health education control arm. This analysis evaluated the association between pneumonia events and major mobility disability (MMD), gait speed, and physical activity levels. Pneumonia events, classified as inpatient or outpatient, were assessed by self-report during longitudinal follow-up. MMD was measured by the inability to complete a 400-m walk test, or other proxies, as a binary outcome and separately analyzed as "short-term" and "long-term" MMD. Short-term MMD was defined as MMD occurring in the assessment period immediately following (between 1-day to 6-months after) a pneumonia event and long-term was in the following assessment period (6 to 12 months after the event). Short- and long-term gait speed was similarly recorded during the walk test in meters per second (m/s) and measured on a linear scale. Physical activity levels were captured via accelerometry and shown visually. Mixed-effects repeated measures regression adjusted for intervention assignment, baseline demographics, comorbid conditions, and frailty. Among the 1635 participants, n = 174 (10.7%) had a pneumonia event of which 80 (46% of events) were hospitalized. Those with pneumonia during follow-up had higher baseline medication use, prior hospitalizations, and higher prevalence of lung disorders but similar baseline functioning. Pneumonia hospitalization was associated with a 4-fold increase [OR = 4.1 (3.2-5.0)] and outpatient events were associated with a 2-fold increase [OR = 2.6 (2.1-3.1)] in the odds of short-term MMD. Pneumonia hospitalizations, but not outpatient events, were associated with a nearly 10% decrement in short-term gait speed. Pneumonia events were not associated with either long-term MMD or gait speed outcomes. Physical activity levels decreased from baseline immediately following the pneumonia episode (10-30% reductions) and returned to baseline after 6 months. These results emphasize the importance of managing pneumonia risk factors to prevent disease in order to maintain physical independence and activity in older adults.

Dataset Information

Gait Speed Predicts Incident Disability: A Pooled Analysis.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Gait Speed Predicts Incident Disability: A Pooled Analysis.

Similar Datasets

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