Search

Hisashi Kawai, Yu Taniguchi, Satoshi Seino, Ryota Sakurai, Yosuke Osuka, Shuichi Obuchi, Yutaka Watanabe, Hunkyung Kim, Hiroki Inagaki, Akihiko Kitamura, Shuichi Awata, Shoji ShinkaiTokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo 173-0015, JapanBackground: Gait measures such as gait speed, stride length, step width, and stance duration change with advanced age and are associated with adverse health outcomes among older adults. The stride-to-stride variabilities of gait measures are also related to falls and cognitive decline in older adults; however, reference values of these gait parameters in older Japanese adults do not exist. This study aimed to determine the reference values of gait parameters as measured by a plantar pressure platform in community-dwelling older Japanese adults.Methods: Community-dwelling adults (N=1,212) who were independent in basic activities of daily living and aged 70–96 years (491 men, 721 women) completed the gait performance measurement in a geriatric health assessment. We assessed 10 gait performance measures with a plantar pressure platform system (P-WALK, BTS Bioengineering) and calculated means and coefficient of variations (CVs) of the gait measures as well as quintiles for those gait parameters per age group among men and women.Results: Mean (SDs) of gait speed, stride length, step width, and stance durations were 1.26 (0.24) meters per second (m/s), 121.9 (19.8) cm, 24.0 (3.2) cm, and 552.4 (60.4) milliseconds (ms), respectively, in men, and 1.27 (0.21) m/s, 115.7 (16.3) cm, 17.9 (2.8) cm, and 517.6 (59.8) ms, respectively, in women. Mean of CVs (SD) of stride length, step width, and single-stance duration were 2.76 (1.35), 12.06 (3.98), and 5.74 (2.66), respectively, in men and 2.69 (1.24), 15.65 (4.53), and 5.77 (2.40), respectively, in women. Gait parameters (except CVs of step width) declined significantly with age regardless of gender (P< 0.01 for trends).Conclusion: This study determined age group dependent gait parameter reference values, presented as means with quintile ranges, in community-dwelling older Japanese adults. These reference values may be useful metrics for gait assessment in the elderly.Keywords: gait parameter, variation coefficient, community-dwelling, older adult, reference value

Ken Nishihara,1 Hisashi Kawai,2 Takeshi Kera,2,3 Hirohiko Hirano,4 Yutaka Watanabe,2 Yoshinori Fujiwara,2 Kazushige Ihara,5 Hunkyung Kim,2 Masashi Tanaka,4 Shuichi Obuchi2 1Department of Physical Therapy, Saitama Prefectural University, Saitama, Japan; 2Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan; 3Department of Physical Therapy, Takasaki University of Health and Welfare, Gunma, Japan; 4Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Hospital, Tokyo, Japan; 5Department of Social Medicine, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine, Aomori, Japan Purpose: The purpose of this study was to clarify the reference values of muscle thicknesses by age and to elucidate the association of muscle thickness with physical function in a large group of community-dwelling elderly individuals.Participants and methods: The muscle thicknesses of the rectus femoris (RF), vastus intermedius (VI), and quadriceps femoris (QF) in 777 of 831 enrolled elderly individuals were measured by ultrasonography, and physical function was measured using knee extension strength (KES), one-legged stance, walking, Timed Up and Go, and grip strength tests. Muscle thickness data were divided by sex and categorized into 5-year age groups. Differences in muscle thickness and KES among the age groups were examined, and correlations between muscle thickness and physical function test results were compared by age. The non-parametric independent two-sample Mann–Whitney U-test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Spearman’s correlation coefficients were used in the statistical analysis.Results: Thickness of the RF showed fewer significant differences among all groups and less decreases compared to thickness of the VI in older age groups, especially in men. Thicknesses of the RF, VI, and QF correlated with KES in almost all the thicknesses of muscles in the 65–69 and 70–74 years age groups in men and in almost all age groups in women. The decrease in muscle thicknesses and degree of correlations with aging were different between men and women.Conclusions: Reductions in the thicknesses of the muscles and KES differed by age group and sex. Our results could be used for prescribing exercise in community-dwelling elderly individuals of varying ages. Keywords: community-dwelling elderly individual, physical function, muscle thickness, ultrasonogram