Educational Differences in Decline in Maximum Gait Speed in Older Adults Over an 11-Year Follow-up

Abstract

Background This study examined educational differences in decline in maximum gait speed over an 11-year follow-up in the general Finnish population aged ≥55 years, and assessed the contribution of lifestyle factors, body mass index, physical workload and chronic conditions on the association. Methods Data from the nationally representative Health 2000 Survey and it’s 11-year follow-up was used. Participants aged 55 years and older with maximum gait speed measured at both time-points were included (n=1128). Information on education, age, sex, lifestyle factors, body mass index, physical workload and chronic conditions was collected at baseline. General linear model was used to examine differences in decline in maximum gait speed between education groups. Mediation analyses using the product method was conducted to partition the total effect of education on decline in maximum gait speed into direct effect and indirect effect acting through mediators. Results Decline in maximum gait speed was greater in low and intermediate education groups in comparison to the high education group [0.24 m/s, 95% confidence interval (0.21, 0.26), 0.24 m/s (0.21, 0.28), 0.10 m/s (0.07, 0.14), respectively]. The most important mediators were higher body mass index and lifetime exposure to physical workload among the less educated, accounting for 10% and 11% of the total effect, respectively. Conclusions Education-based disparities in objectively measured mobility increase with age as lower education is associated with greater decline in gait speed. Higher body mass index and physical workload among less educated contributed most to the educational disparities in age-related decline in maximum gait speed.

A linear regression-based machine learning pipeline for the discovery of clinically relevant correlates of gait speed reserve from multiple physiological systems

“…Our results are consistent with previous research showing significant differences in maximum walking speed for different ages and between men and women [11,12]. Our results are also consistent with previous findings that higher BMI and physical workload among those with lower education contributed most to the educational disparities in age-related decline in maximum gait speed [13]. Cognitive performance has also been cited as a significant predictor of maximum gait speed [14] and from our study, we can conclude that the MOCA may be more predictive than the MMSE test in this regard.…”

Catechol‐O‐methyltransferase (COMT) polymorphism predicts rapid gait speed changes in healthy older adults

“…The average baseline rapid gait speed was 1.55 m/s (SD = 0.33), comparable to other healthy older adult samples. 4,27,28 Over an average follow-up time of 7.10 (SD = 2.35) years, rapid gait declined by 13% to 1.35 m/s (SD = 0.34) at the study's end.…”

Relevance of Sociodemographics and Clinical Tests in Single- and Dual-Task Conditions as Gait Speed Predictors of Parkinson’s Disease

“…Such a finding demonstrates that functional movement is complex, with multiple systems involved beyond the musculoskeletal one [48]. A low academic level has been linked to low maximum gait speeds [49], though mediated by factors such as a higher body mass index and lifetime exposure to a physical workload, which shows that the cognitive resources acquired over the course of life influence an individual's motor control. Furthermore, in Model I of the gait speed with a visual task, it was observed that taking fewer prescribed medications (drugs) was related to a higher gait speed, which has previously been stated by other authors in healthy older people [50] and in a study on the impacts on the ability to walk for people with PD [51].…”