Abstract
Background and aims
Fast- and usual-paced 400-m walking tests are often used to assess physical fitness or function, respectively, though it is not known how performance converges on these tests. This study aims to determine whether performance on the fast- and usual-paced 400-m walks varies based upon age and physical function.
Methods
Participants (26 men, 38 women aged 70–92) completed a fast- and usual-paced 400-m walk. The Short Physical Performance Battery was used to assess function (score range 0–12). Body mass index and health history were also assessed.
Results
Finish times for the fast- and usual-paced 400-m walks were 333.3 and 380.3 s, respectively (P < 0.0001), and highly correlated (r = 0.88, P < 0.001). Higher functioning participants (SPPB > 10) had greater differences between tests compared to lower functioning participants (SPPB ≤ 10) (52.9 vs. 26.2 s, P = 0.005), as did younger participants (age < 80) compared to those age 80 and older (56.8 vs. 32.8 s, P = 0.003).
Discussion
Older and lower functioning participants had greater convergence on the fast- and usual-paced 400-m walks. Potentially some of these lower functioning and older adults may have already performed at their maximal capacity during the usual-paced walk, while the younger and higher functioning participants were able to walk substantially faster when asked.
Conclusions
Choice of walking test should consider the age and functional capacity of the population as well as whether function or fitness is of interest.
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Acknowledgments
This research was supported by Pittsburgh Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center, Research Registry and Developmental Pilot Grant—NIH P30 AG024826 and NIH P30 AG024827 and National Institute on Aging Professional Services Contract HHSN271201100605P. This project was also supported, in part, by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute on Aging. Brittney S. Lange-Maia is funded by a National Institute on Aging Training Grant T32-AG000181. This work was presented as an oral presentation at the 66th Annual Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America on November 23, 2013 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
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On behalf of all the authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.
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Lange-Maia, B.S., Newman, A.B., Strotmeyer, E.S. et al. Performance on fast- and usual-paced 400-m walk tests in older adults: are they comparable?. Aging Clin Exp Res 27, 309–314 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-014-0287-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-014-0287-y