AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY OF GAIT SPEED IN ELDERLY PARTICIPANTS ATTENDING OUTPATIENT CLINIC GERIATRIC DEPARTMENT, MADRAS MEDICAL COLLEGE, CHENNAI
Journal Title: Journal of Evolution of Medical and Dental Sciences - Year 2018, Vol 7, Issue 11
Abstract
BACKGROUND Gait speed is a clinical marker of functional capacity among the elderly. Gait speed is an important measure in comprehensive geriatric assessment. Gait speed is a quick, inexpensive, reliable measure of functional capacity with well-documented predictive value for major health-related outcomes. 2 Numerous epidemiological studies have documented gait speed in healthy, communitydwelling older people. The aim of the study is to observe the gait speed of elderly patients attending Geriatric Outpatient Clinic, Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, Chennai using 4 metres (15 ft.) walking test and study the same with respect to Gender and Body Mass Index (BMI). MATERIALS AND METHODS Gait speed is a measure of how quickly someone can walk within a specified distance. It requires input from the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, muscles, joints and cardiovascular system. When you measure gait speed, the score can give you insight into the overall health of specific populations. Measure out your desired gait test distance, for example- measure out a 4 metre walking area. In addition, measure out a 5 foot starting area and a 5 foot finishing area. The purpose of the starting and finishing area is to allow the person to build up speed to either their comfortable or maximal gait speed. 1 204 elderly patients were randomly selected. The data was collected and analysed using T test. The 4 metres (15 ft) walk test was the tool used to evaluate the maximum gait speed and average gait speed. To eliminate the acceleration and deceleration components, the volunteers were instructed to begin walking 1.2 m before the beginning of the course and to finish 1.2 m after the end of the course at usual speed. Three tests were carried out to minimise the learning effect, and the best performance was used for data analysis. A single examiner using a digital stopwatch with 1/100 of a second reading recorded the walking time of all volunteers and registered the number of steps and strides taken during the course. Gender, height and weight of the elderly patients were recorded for calculating Body Mass Index. Design- A hospital-based, prospective, observational study. RESULTS There is no significant difference between gait speed maximum between age group. There is significant difference between gait speed and age group of 70 - 79 years having lower values than the 80+ years. There is significant difference between BMI and age group 60 - 69 years having higher values than the other groups. CONCLUSION Gait speed has been shown to be an important measure in comprehensive geriatric assessment in all clinical settings for the purposes of developing risk profiles and care plans for geriatric patients.
Authors and Affiliations
Kesavan Umakalyani, Manickam Senthil Kumar
Keywords
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- EP ID EP411607
- DOI 10.14260/jemds/2018/308
- Views 69
- Downloads 0
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