Twardzik Erica, Duchowny Kate, Gallagher Amby, Alexander Neil, Strasburg Debra, Colabianchi Natalie, Clarke Philippa
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Environment and Policy Lab, School of Kinesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Gait Posture. 2019 Feb;68:437-442. doi: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2018.12.028. Epub 2018 Dec 20.
A growing body of research has demonstrated relationships between built environment characteristics and outdoor mobility. However, most of this work has relied on composite scores of the built environment.
Which properties of the outdoor built environment are associated with the greatest change in gait metrics in a real-world setting?
25 community-dwelling adults from Southeast Michigan were equipped with mobile inertial measurement units and walked a 1300-meter outdoor course with varying environmental demands. Environmental properties were documented in sections of the course using the Senior Walking Environmental Assessment Tool. Gait speed, left foot cadence, and stride length were used to identify the built environment properties under which mobility was most challenged using linear mixed models. We hypothesized that subjects would adapt to demanding environments by decreasing gait speed, increasing cadence, and shortening stride length.
Properties of the built environment were significantly associated with changes in gait speed, left foot cadence, and stride length. Properties that were most important for predicting gait speed included slope, sidewalk condition, and presence of holes. Sidewalk slope, bumps, and the presence of a curb cut were all significant predictors of left foot cadence. Mean stride length of the outdoor course was significantly associated with the section's condition, slope, holes, bumps, width, and the presence of grooves and bumps at a curb.
Associations between environmental properties and gait parameters were differential across the three mobility outcomes. When examining which properties of the built environment are challenging to navigate it is important to understand the relative influence of specific properties on gait metrics. Knowledge of which built environment properties are barriers for walking behavior is critical for the design of inclusive sidewalks and streets.
越来越多的研究表明建筑环境特征与户外出行能力之间存在关联。然而，这项工作大多依赖于建筑环境的综合评分。
在现实环境中，户外建筑环境的哪些属性与步态指标的最大变化相关？
来自密歇根州东南部的25名社区居住成年人配备了移动惯性测量单元，并在一条1300米的户外路线上行走，该路线具有不同的环境要求。使用老年人步行环境评估工具在路线各段记录环境属性。使用线性混合模型，通过步态速度、左脚步频和步幅来确定出行能力最受挑战的建筑环境属性。我们假设受试者会通过降低步态速度、增加步频和缩短步幅来适应具有挑战性的环境。
建筑环境属性与步态速度、左脚步频和步幅的变化显著相关。对预测步态速度最重要的属性包括坡度、人行道状况和坑洼情况。人行道坡度、颠簸和路缘坡道的存在都是左脚步频的显著预测因素。户外路线的平均步幅与该路段的状况、坡度、坑洼、颠簸、宽度以及路缘处凹槽和颠簸的存在显著相关。
环境属性与步态参数之间的关联在三种出行结果中存在差异。在研究建筑环境的哪些属性对出行具有挑战性时，了解特定属性对步态指标的相对影响非常重要。了解哪些建筑环境属性是步行行为的障碍，对于设计包容性的人行道和街道至关重要。
