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Use of Self‐Report to Predict Ability to Walk 400 Meters in Mobility‐Limited Older Adults
Author(s) -
Sayers Stephen P.,
Brach Jennifer S.,
Newman Anne B.,
Heeren Tim C.,
Guralnik Jack M.,
Fielding Roger A.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2004.52571.x
Subject(s) - sitting , medicine , observational study , walk in , logistic regression , physical therapy , gerontology , physical medicine and rehabilitation , pathology , alternative medicine
Objectives: To determine whether the ability to walk 400 m could be predicted from self‐reported walking habits and abilities in older adults and to develop an accurate self‐report measure appropriate for observational trials of mobility when functional measures are impractical to collect. Design: Cross‐sectional. Setting: University‐based human physiology laboratory. Participants: One hundred fifty community‐dwelling older men and women (mean age±standard error= 79.8±0.3). Measurements: An 18‐item questionnaire assessing walking habits and ability was administered to each participant, followed by a 400‐m walk test. Ninety‐eight (65%) volunteers were able to complete the 400‐m walk; 52 (35%) were unable. Logistic regression was performed using response items from a questionnaire as predictors and 400‐m walk as the outcome. Results: Three questions (Do you think you could walk one‐quarter of a mile now without sitting down to rest. Because of a health or physical problem, do you have difficulty walking 1 mile? Could you walk up and down every aisle of a grocery store without sitting down to rest or leaning on a cart?) were predictive of 400‐m walking ability and were included in the model. If participants answered all three questions compatible with the inability to walk 400 m, there was a 91% probability that they were unable to walk 400 m, with a sensitivity of 46% and a specificity of 97%. Conclusion: A three‐item self‐report developed in the study was able to accurately predict mobility disability. The utility of this instrument may be in evaluating self‐reported mobility in large observational trials on mobility when functional mobility tasks are impractical to collect.