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Racial Differences in Gait Velocity in an Urban Elderly Cohort
Author(s) -
Blanco Irene,
Verghese Joe,
Lipton Richard B.,
Putterman Chaim,
Derby Carol A.
Publication year - 2012
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.1532-5415.2012.03927.x
Subject(s) - medicine , gait , diabetes mellitus , confounding , body mass index , cohort , demography , cohort study , physical therapy , endocrinology , sociology
Objectives To investigate whether there are racial differences in gait velocity in elderly adults. Design Cross‐sectional analysis. Setting Bronx, N ew Y ork. Participants Two hundred thirteen participants of the E instein A ging S tudy (157 C aucasian, 56 A frican A merican), a longitudinal study of community‐residing elderly adults recruited using M edicare and voter registration records. Measurements Demographic characteristics, medical history, G eriatric D epression S cale, B lessed I nformation– M emory– C oncentration T est, T otal P ain I ndex, gait velocity. Results Caucasians were older (median 79.9 vs 75.5, P = .002) and more educated (median 14 vs 12 years, P = .007) and had lower body mass index (mean 26.9 ± 4.3 vs 28.9 ± 6.4, P = .03). A frican A mericans were more likely to be female (80.4% vs 59.9%, P = .006) and to have diabetes mellitus (28.6% vs 13.4%, P = .01). Pain levels were not significantly different between C aucasians and A frican A mericans. A frican A mericans had a significantly slower gait velocity (mean 90.2 ± 17.9 vs 99.1 ± 20.1 cm/s, P = .004). This difference persisted after adjusting for multiple covariates. Differences in common factors known to influence gait did not explain a 7.79‐cm/s slower gait speed in A frican A mericans than C aucasians. Conclusion Differences in gait velocity persist between A frican A mericans and C aucasians despite adjusting for many confounders. Increases of just 10 cm/s are associated with lower mortality. Further studies are needed to evaluate whether there are modifiable risk factors that may explain this difference and whether an intervention could reduce the discrepancy between the groups.