Walking speed may boost life expectancy
Wednesday January 5th, 2011
People who keep up a brisk pace of walking late in life tend to live longer than those who walk more slowly, researchers reported last night.
The
researchers looked at walking speed as an indicator of life expectancy
for doctors to use when deciding on treatment plans.
In the Journal of the American Medical Association, they write that life expectancy based on age and sex alone "provides limited information because survival is also influenced by health and functional abilities".
Walking speed has previously been shown to be linked with survival among older adults, and to reflect health and functional status.
Dr Stephanie Studenski of the University of Pittsburgh, USA, and colleagues analysed nine studies involving 34,485 men and women aged 65 years or older, followed for six to 21 years. During this time there were 17,528 deaths. The overall five-year survival rate was 85 per cent, and ten-year survival was 60 per cent.
Walking speed was associated with survival in all nine studies, say the researchers. They report that the average walking speed of the participants was 0.92 metres (three feet) per second. Speeds of 1.0 metre (3.3 feet) per second or higher "consistently demonstrated survival that was longer than expected by age and sex alone", they write.
They add that predicted survival based on age, sex, and walking speed was as accurate as predictions based on age, sex, use of mobility aids, and self-reported function, or age, sex, chronic conditions, smoking history, blood pressure, body mass index, and hospitalisation.
In an editorial, Dr Matteo Cesari of the Universita Campus Bio-Medico in Italy, agrees that assessing walking speed in older persons "is likely to be a useful research tool and may have a clinical role".
Studenski, S. et al. Gait Speed and Survival in Older Adults. The Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 305, January 5, 2011, pp. 50-58.
Cesari, M. Role of Gait Speed in the Assessment of Older Patients. The Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 305, January 5, 2011, pp. 93-94.
Tags: Fitness | Geriatric Health | North America
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