Article

The ability to walk for short and prolonged periods of time is often
measured with separate walking tests. It is unclear whether decline in the
2-minute walk coincides with decline in a shorter 20-m walk among older adults.
The aim of this study was to describe patterns of change in the 20-m
walk and 2-minute walk over 8 years among a large cohort of older adults. Should
change be similar between tests of walking ability, separate retesting of
prolonged walking may need to be reconsidered. DESIGN: A longitudinal,
observational cohort study was conducted. METHODS: Data were from 1,893 older
adults who were well-functioning (>/=70 years of age). The 20-m walk and 2-minute
walk were repeatedly measured over 8 years to measure change during short and
prolonged periods of walking, respectively. Change was examined using a dual
group-based trajectory model (dual model), and agreement between walking
trajectories was quantified with a weighted kappa statistic. RESULTS: Three
trajectory groups for the 20-m walk and 2-minute walk were identified. More than
86% of the participants were in similar trajectory groups for both tests from the
dual model. There was high chance-corrected agreement (kappa=.84; 95% confidence
interval=.82, .86) between the 20-m walk and 2-minute walk trajectory groups.
LIMITATIONS: One-third of the original Health, Aging and Body Composition (Health
ABC) study cohort was excluded from analysis due to missing clinic visits,
followed by being excluded for health reasons for performing the 2-minute walk,
limiting generalizability to healthy older adults. CONCLUSIONS: Patterns of
change in the 2-minute walk are similar to those in the 20-m walk. Thus, separate
retesting of the 2-minute walk may need to be reconsidered to gauge change in
prolonged walking.
CI - (c) 2014 American Physical Therapy Association.

Langue : ANGLAIS