Ferrucci L, Bandinelli S, Benvenuti E, Di Iorio A, Macchi C, Harris T B, Guralnik J M
INRCA Geriatric Department, Florence, Italy.
J Am Geriatr Soc. 2000 Dec;48(12):1618-25. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2000.tb03873.x.
Older patients are often referred to geriatricians because of complaints of progressive difficulties in walking. The diagnostic and therapeutic approach to these patients is complex. Multiple physiologic subsystems may influence the ability to walk, and no standard criteria are currently available to establish whether these subsystems are functioning within the normal range. To address this lack of knowledge we conducted the InCHIANTI study.
To identify measures that clinicians can use to understand the causes of walking difficulties in older persons.
A population-based study of persons living in the Chianti geographic area (Tuscany, Italy).
1,453 persons (age-range 20-102 years; 91.6% of the eligible) selected from city registry of Greve in Chianti and Bagno a Ripoli (Tuscany, Italy), using a multistage sampling method.
Factors that influence walking ability were classified into six main physiologic subsystems: central nervous system, perceptual system, peripheral nervous system, muscles, bone/joints, and energy production/delivery. Measures of the integrity and functioning of each of these proposed subsystems were identified and administered to all participants.
Data collected in InCHIANTI will be used to identify the main risk factors that influence loss of the ability to walk in older persons, to define physiologic subsystems that are critical for walking, to select the best measures of their integrity, and to establish critical ranges in these measures that are compatible with "normal" walking ability. The final goal is to translate epidemiological research into a geriatric clinical tool that makes possible more precise diagnosis and more effective treatment in patients with walking dysfunction.
老年患者常因步行逐渐困难的主诉而被转诊至老年病科医生处。对这些患者的诊断和治疗方法较为复杂。多个生理子系统可能会影响步行能力，目前尚无标准标准来确定这些子系统是否在正常范围内运作。为了解决这一知识空白，我们开展了基安蒂地区老年人健康与衰老研究（InCHIANTI）。
确定临床医生可用于了解老年人步行困难原因的测量方法。
一项基于居住在基安蒂地理区域（意大利托斯卡纳）人群的研究。
采用多阶段抽样方法，从基安蒂地区格雷韦和巴尼奥阿里波利（意大利托斯卡纳）的城市登记册中选取了1453人（年龄范围20 - 102岁；符合条件者的91.6%）。
影响步行能力的因素被分为六个主要生理子系统：中枢神经系统、感知系统、周围神经系统、肌肉、骨骼/关节以及能量产生/输送。确定了每个拟定子系统的完整性和功能的测量方法，并对所有参与者进行了测量。
基安蒂地区老年人健康与衰老研究收集的数据将用于确定影响老年人步行能力丧失的主要风险因素，定义对步行至关重要的生理子系统，选择其完整性的最佳测量方法，并确定这些测量方法中与“正常”步行能力相符的关键范围。最终目标是将流行病学研究转化为一种老年临床工具，使步行功能障碍患者能够得到更精确的诊断和更有效的治疗。
