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Background: Gait speed is a strong predictor of a wide range of adverse health outcomes in older adults. Mean values for gait speed in community-dwelling older adults vary substantially depending on population characteristics, suggesting that social, biological, or health factors might explain why certain groups tend to selfselect their gait speed in different patterns. The vast majority of studies reported in the literature present data from North American and European populations. There are few population-based studies from other regions with a different ethnicity and/or social and health conditions. To address this, the present study identified the mean usual and fast gait speeds in a representative multiracial population of community-dwelling older adults living in a developing country, and explored their association with sociodemographic, mental and physical health characteristics. Methods: This was a cross-sectional population-based study of a sample of 137 men and 248 women, aged 65 years and over. Usual gait speed and fast gait speed were measured on a 4.6 m path. Participants were classified into slow, intermediate, and faster groups by cluster analysis. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the independent effect of each factor on the odds of presenting with a slower usual and slower fast gait speeds Results: Participants had a mean (SD) usual gait speed of 1.11 (0.27) m/s and a mean fast gait speed of 1.39 (0.34) m/s. We did not observe an independent association between gait speed and race/ethnicity, educational level, or income. The main contributors to present a slower usual gait speed were low physical activity level, stroke, diabetes, urinary incontinence, high concern about falling, and old age. A slower fast gait speed was associated with old age, low physical activity, urinary incontinence and high concern about falling. Conclusion: A multiracial population of older adults living in a developing country showed a similar mean gait speed to that observed in previously studied populations. The results suggest that low physical activity, urinary incontinence and high concern about falling should not be neglected and may help identify those who might benefit from early intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to test the inter-rater reproducibility of the Portuguese version of the PEDro Scale. Seven physiotherapists rated the methodological quality of 50 reports of randomized controlled trials written in Portuguese indexed on the PEDro database. Each report was also rated using the English version of the PEDro Scale. Reproducibility was evaluated by comparing two separate ratings of reports written in Portuguese and comparing the Portuguese PEDro score with the English version of the scale. Kappa coefficients ranged from 0.53 to 1.00 for individual item and an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.82 for the total PEDro score was observed. The standard error of the measurement of the scale was 0.58. The Portuguese version of the scale was comparable with the English version, with an ICC of 0.78. The inter-rater reproducibility of the Brazilian Portuguese PEDro Scale is adequate and similar to the original English version.