Pedro José Ortiz Saavedra

Velocidad de la marcha como indicador de fragilidad en adultos mayores de la comunidad en Lima, Perú

OBJECTIVE To determine the gait speed cut-off point that indicates frailty in community-dwelling elderly people in Lima, Peru. MATERIAL AND METHODS Gait speed was measured over a distance of 8m and frailty was determined by using Frieds criteria in a sample of 246 elderly adults. A cluster analysis was applied to establish the gait speed cut-off point determining the presence of frailty. RESULTS The mean age was 69.9 years (SD: 7.6) and 59.8% were women. The frequency of frailty was 7.7% and the frequencies of comorbidity and dependency were 12.6% and 6.5%, respectively. The mean gait speed was 0.9 m/s (SD: 0.2) and the gait speed cut-off point indicating frailty was 0.7 m/s. CONCLUSION Gait speed less than 0.7 m/s is an indicator of frailty in community-dwelling elderly people in Lima, Peru.