Eggenberger Patrick, Tomovic Sara, Münzer Thomas, de Bruin Eling D
Institute of Human Movement Sciences and Sport, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Institute of Physiotherapy, School of Health Professions, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Winterthur, Switzerland.
PLoS One. 2017 Jul 31;12(7):e0182180. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0182180. eCollection 2017.
Slow walking speed is strongly associated with adverse health outcomes, including cognitive impairment, in the older population. Moreover, adequate walking speed is crucial to maintain older pedestrians' mobility and safety in urban areas. This study aimed to identify the proportion of Swiss older adults that didn't reach 1.2 m/s, which reflects the requirements to cross streets within the green-yellow phase of pedestrian lights, when walking fast under cognitive challenge. A convenience sample, including 120 older women (65%) and men, was recruited from the community (88%) and from senior residences and divided into groups of 70-79 years (n = 59, 74.8 ± 0.4 y; mean ± SD) and ≥80 years (n = 61, 85.5 ± 0.5 y). Steady state walking speed was assessed under single- and dual-task conditions at preferred and fast walking speed. Additionally, functional lower extremity strength (5-chair-rises test), subjective health rating, and retrospective estimates of fall frequency were recorded. Results showed that 35.6% of the younger and 73.8% of the older participants were not able to walk faster than 1.2 m/s under the fast dual-task walking condition. Fast dual-task walking speed was higher compared to the preferred speed single- and dual-task conditions (all p < .05, r = .31 to .48). Average preferred single-task walking speed was 1.19 ± 0.24 m/s (70-79 y) and 0.94 ± 0.27 m/s (≥80 y), respectively, and correlated with performance in the 5-chair-rises test (rs = -.49, p < .001), subjective health (τ = .27, p < .001), and fall frequency (τ = -.23, p = .002). We conclude that the fitness status of many older people is inadequate to safely cross streets at pedestrian lights and maintain mobility in the community's daily life in urban areas. Consequently, training measures to improve the older population's cognitive and physical fitness should be promoted to enhance walking speed and safety of older pedestrians.
在老年人群体中，步行速度缓慢与包括认知障碍在内的不良健康结果密切相关。此外，足够的步行速度对于维持老年行人在城市地区的行动能力和安全至关重要。本研究旨在确定在认知挑战下快速行走时，未达到1.2米/秒的瑞士老年人的比例，这一速度反映了在行人信号灯的绿黄阶段穿过街道的要求。我们从社区（88%）以及老年住宅招募了一个便利样本，包括120名老年女性（65%）和男性，并将其分为70 - 79岁组（n = 59，74.8 ± 0.4岁；均值 ± 标准差）和≥80岁组（n = 61，85.5 ± 0.5岁）。在单任务和双任务条件下，以偏好步行速度和快速步行速度评估稳态步行速度。此外，记录了下肢功能力量（5次坐椅起立测试）、主观健康评分以及跌倒频率的回顾性估计。结果显示，在快速双任务步行条件下，35.6%的年轻参与者和73.8%的老年参与者无法行走得比1.2米/秒更快。与偏好速度的单任务和双任务条件相比，快速双任务步行速度更高（所有p < .05，r = .31至.48）。平均偏好单任务步行速度分别为1.19 ± 0.24米/秒（70 - 79岁）和0.94 ± 0.27米/秒（≥80岁），并且与5次坐椅起立测试的表现（rs = -.49，p < .001）、主观健康（τ = .27，p < .001）以及跌倒频率（τ = -.23，p = .002）相关。我们得出结论，许多老年人的健康状况不足以在行人信号灯处安全穿过街道并在城市社区的日常生活中保持行动能力。因此，应推广改善老年人群体认知和身体健康的训练措施，以提高老年行人的步行速度和安全性。
