Gait speed and risk assessment for falls among men aged 80 years and older: A prospective cohort study in Taiwan

C. K. Liang, M. Y. Chou, L. N. Peng, M. C. Liao, C. L. Chu, Y. T. Lin*, L. K. Chen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

16 Scopus citations

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of adding gait speed to the history of falls in predicting falls among men aged 80 years and older in Taiwan.

Methods: This prospective cohort study recruited 230 ambulatory men aged 80 years and older in 2012 and followed for 12 months. In addition to demographic characteristics and history of falls, a comprehensive geriatric assessment was performed for all study subjects. Gait speed was obtained by the 6-m walk and three different cut-offs (< 0.5, ≤ 0.8 and < 1.0 m/s) were tested in improving the ability of predicting subsequent falls by using history of falls.

Results: Among all subjects (mean age: 85.5 ± 4.0 years), 26.1% (60/230) reported falls during follow-up period. Univariate analysis showed that polypharmacy, urinary incontinence, history of falls, pain, poorer baseline physical function, depressive mood, and gait speed < 0.5 m/s were associated with falls. Logistic regression showed that history of falls (OR: 4.255, 95% CI 2.089-8.667; P < 0.001), pain (OR: 2.674, 95% CI 1.332-5.369; P = 0.006), older age (OR: 1.128, 95% CI 1.031-1.234; P = 0.008), and slow gait speed (OR: 2.964, 95% CI 1.394-6.300; P = 0.005) were all independent risk factors for falls. Fast gait speed (defined as ≥ 1 m/s) was a protective factor for falls, even among subjects with history of falls, but slow gait speed (defined as < 0.5 m/s) was an independent risk factor even among subjects without history of falls. Conclusions: Combined history of falls and gait speed is a simple and effective tool in risk assessment of falls among older old population. ≤ 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS and European Union Geriatric Medicine Society. All rights reserved.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)298-302
Number of pages5
JournalEuropean Geriatric Medicine
Volume5
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Oct 2014

Keywords

  • Fall
  • Gait speed
  • History of falls
  • Men
  • Oldest old

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Gait speed and risk assessment for falls among men aged 80 years and older: A prospective cohort study in Taiwan'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this