BACKGROUND

The 10-m walk test (10MWT) is a widely used measure of gait speed in Parkinson's disease (PD). However, it is unclear if different standardizations of its conduct impact test results.

AIM OF THE STUDY

We examined the clinical significance of two aspects of the standardization of the 10MWT in mild PD: static vs. dynamic start, and a single vs. repeated trials. Implications for fall prediction were also explored.

METHODS

151 people with PD (mean age and PD duration, 68 and 4 years, respectively) completed the 10MWT in comfortable gait speed with static and dynamic start (two trials each), and gait speed (m/s) was recorded. Participants then registered all prospective falls for 6 months.

RESULTS

Absolute mean differences between outcomes from the various test conditions ranged between 0.016 and 0.040 m/s (effect sizes, 0.06-0.14) with high levels of agreement (intra-class correlation coefficients, 0.932-0.987) and small standard errors of measurement (0.032-0.076 m/s). Receiver operating characteristic curves showed similar discriminate abilities for prediction of future falls across conditions (areas under curves, 0.70-0.73). Cut-off points were estimated at 1.1-1.2 m/s.

CONCLUSIONS

Different 10MWT standardizations yield very similar results, suggesting that there is no practical need for an acceleration distance or repeated trials when conducting this test in mild PD.