The Importance of Racially and Ethnically Inclusive Gait Speed Reference Values in Individuals 90 Years and Older: LifeAfter90.

ABSTRACT:

Background and purpose

Clinicians use reference values to contextualize physical performance scores, but data are sparse in individuals 90 years and older and racial/ethnic diversity is limited in existing studies. Gait speed provides valuable information about an individual's health status. Slow gait speed is associated with falls, cognitive decline, and mortality. Here, we report gait speed reference values in a racially/ethnically diverse oldest-old cohort.

Methods

LifeAfter90 is a multiethnic cohort study of individuals 90 years and older. Participants are long-term members of an integrated healthcare delivery system without a dementia diagnosis at enrollment. We assessed gait speed using the 4-m walk test and calculated means, standard deviations, and percentiles by age

SUBMITTER: Colcord KA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11975436 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct-Dec 01

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature