Katsuhiko Mizota

Reproducibility and validity of the 50-meter walking test in community-dwelling elderly

[Purpose] This study aimed to investigate the reproducibility and validity of the 50-m walking test. [Subjects] Reproducibility was investigated in 19 community-dwelling elderly women (mean age, 76.3 years), and validity was investigated in 31 community-dwelling elderly individuals (12 men and 19 women; mean age, 75.7 years). [Methods] The time taken to walk 50 m, the time taken to walk each 10-m section (laps 1–5), the time taken to walk 10 m, and grip strength were measured. In addition, the functional reach test (FRT), one-leg standing test, and timed up and go (TUG) test were performed. [Results] In a reproducibility analysis, the interclass correlation coefficient (1,1) was 0.97. In a Bland-Altman analysis, no systematic error was found. The measured values from the 50-m walking test included a measurement error of 1.5 s, and the acceptable margin of error was confirmed to be 3.1 s. In a validity analysis, the 50-m walking test score was significantly correlated with the 10-m walking and TUG test scores. [Conclusion] Our results suggest that the 50-m walking test score may be a useful index of the walking ability of community-dwelling elderly.

Usefulness of a 50-meter round walking test for fall prediction in the elderly requiring long-term care

[Purpose] This study aimed to verify the usefulness of a 50-m round walking test developed as an assessment method for walking ability in the elderly. [Subjects] The subjects were 166 elderly requiring long-term care individuals (mean age, 80.5 years). [Methods] In order to evaluate the factors that had affected falls in the subjects in the previous year, we performed the 50-m round walking test, functional reach test, one-leg standing test, and 5-m walking test and measured grip strength and quadriceps strength. [Results] The 50-m round walking test was selected as a variable indicating fall risk based on the results of multiple logistic regression analysis. The cutoff value of the 50-m round walking test for determining fall risk was 0.66 m/sec. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.64. The sensitivity of the cutoff value was 65.7%, the specificity was 63.6%, the positive predictive value was 55.0%, the negative predictive value was 73.3%, and the accuracy was 64.5%. [Conclusion] These results suggest that the 50-m round walking test is a potentially useful parameter for the determination of fall risk in the elderly requiring long-term care.