Yang Feng
Department of Kinesiology and Health, Georgia State University, 125 Decatur St, Suite-137, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Eur Geriatr Med. 2025 Apr 17. doi: 10.1007/s41999-025-01208-w.
Slower gait is prevalent in older adults. Multiple factors contribute to the slowness in older adults. However, whether these factors affect gait speed similarly or differently remains unknown. The primary purpose of this study was to explore the relative importance of eight modifiable factors (body mass index, leg muscle strength, power, dorsiflexion range of motion, tactile sensation, balance, fear of falling, and cognition) affecting gait speed in community-living older adults.
Eighty-five community-living older adults (mean ± standard deviation age: 72.3 ± 5.5 years; 51 females and 34 males) were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. A motion capture system assessed their gait speed. Those eight factors that could slow gait speed in older adults were also evaluated. A multiple linear regression model and relative weight analysis were utilized to determine the relative importance of each factor in contributing to the gait speed variation.
All eight factors were significantly correlated with the gait speed. Together, they accounted for about 50% of the observed variation in gait speed. Six factors (body mass index, strength, power, range of motion, balance, and fear of falling) each explained a statistically significant portion of the gait speed variation. The most important factor was the leg muscle power (relative weight = 0.124), contributing 25.2% of the explained speed variation.
Leg muscle power could be a principal factor determining gait speed in older adults. Other factors also significantly influence gait speed in this population. The findings could guide prioritizing actions to improve gait speed in older individuals.
老年人中步态缓慢很普遍。多种因素导致老年人步态缓慢。然而，这些因素对步态速度的影响是相似还是不同仍不清楚。本研究的主要目的是探讨八个可改变因素（体重指数、腿部肌肉力量、功率、背屈活动范围、触觉、平衡、害怕跌倒和认知）对社区居住老年人步态速度的相对重要性。
85名社区居住的老年人（平均±标准差年龄：72.3±5.5岁；51名女性和34名男性）参与了这项横断面研究。一个动作捕捉系统评估了他们的步态速度。还评估了那些可能使老年人步态速度减慢的八个因素。采用多元线性回归模型和相对权重分析来确定每个因素对步态速度变化的相对重要性。
所有八个因素均与步态速度显著相关。它们共同解释了观察到的步态速度变化的约50%。六个因素（体重指数、力量、功率、活动范围、平衡和害怕跌倒）各自解释了步态速度变化的一个具有统计学意义的部分。最重要的因素是腿部肌肉功率（相对权重=0.124），占解释的速度变化量的25.2%。
腿部肌肉功率可能是决定老年人步态速度的主要因素。其他因素也对该人群的步态速度有显著影响。这些发现可为优先采取行动改善老年人的步态速度提供指导。
