Associations between walking speed and participation, according to walking status in individuals with chronic stroke.

BACKGROUND

Reduced walking speed (WS) may lead to restrictions in participation of individuals with stroke, however, the relationships between WS and participation still need to better clarified.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the relationships between WS and participation and compare the levels of participation of individuals with chronic stroke, who were stratified according to their walking status.

METHODS

One-hundred and five individuals with stroke (58±12 years; 61 men) participated. WS was measured by the 10-meter walking test and reported in m/s. The participants were stratified into three walking status groups: household (WS <0.4 m/s), limited-community (0.4 m/s-0.8 m/s), and full-community ambulation (>0.8 m/s). Participation was assessed by the Brazilian version of the Assessment of Life Habits 3.1 (LIFE-H 3.1-Brazil).

RESULTS

Between-group analyses revealed statistically significant differences between the household, limited-community, and full-community ambulators regarding the LIFE-H 3.1 total (F = 17.5; p < 0.0001), as well the daily activity (F = 12.3; p < 0.0001) and social role (F = 19.0; p < 0.0001) domain scores. Measures of WS were correlated with the daily activity (r = 0.50, p < 0.0001), social role (r = 0.53, p < 0.0001), total LIFE-H scores (r = 0.53, p < 0.0001), and most of the LIFE-H categories (r = 0.23-0.56).

CONCLUSIONS

WS was significantly correlated with participation and was able to distinguish between individuals with stroke, who had different levels of participation.