Citation

Takayanagi N, Sudo M, Yamashiro Y, Lee S, Kobayashi Y, Niki Y, Shimada H. Sci. Rep. 2019; 9(1): e3496.

Affiliation

Department of Preventive Gerontology, Center for Gerontology and Social Science, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, 7-430 Morioka, Obu, Aichi, 474-8511, Japan.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1038/s41598-019-39695-0

PMID

30837520

Abstract

Gait speed in laboratory settings (in-laboratory gait speed) is one of the important indicators associated with the decline in functional abilities in older adulthood. Recently, it has become possible to measure gait speed during daily living (daily gait speed) using accelerometers. However, the relationship between these two gait speed parameters is unclear. This study aimed to compare in-laboratory gait speed, measured by a sheet-type pressure sensor, and daily gait speed, measured by an accelerometer, in healthy community-dwelling older adults. Participants were aged ≥60 years, residing in Takahama city, Aichi, Japan. To calculate daily gait speed, participants were instructed to wear a tri-axial accelerometer on their waist. A total of 1965 participants were included in the final analysis. The results showed a weak association (r = 0.333, p < 0.001) between the two gait speed parameters. Furthermore, average daily gait speed was significantly lower than average in-laboratory gait speed. However, both gait speed parameters declined significantly with age. These results suggest that, in addition to in-laboratory gait speed, daily gait speed may be a helpful parameter for predicting decline in functional abilities.

Language: en