Use of self-report to predict ability to walk 400 meters in mobility-limited older adults.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether the ability to walk 400 m could be predicted from self-reported walking habits and abilities in older adults and to develop an accurate self-report measure appropriate for observational trials of mobility when functional measures are impractical to collect.


METHODS
Cross-sectional.


METHODS
University-based human physiology laboratory.


METHODS
One hundred fifty community-dwelling older men and women (mean age+/-standard error= 79.8+/-0.3).


METHODS
An 18-item questionnaire assessing walking habits and ability was administered to each participant, followed by a 400-m walk test. Ninety-eight (65%) volunteers were able to complete the 400-m walk; 52 (35%) were unable. Logistic regression was performed using response items from a questionnaire as predictors and 400-m walk as the outcome.


RESULTS
Three questions (Do you think you could walk one-quarter of a mile now without sitting down to rest. Because of a health or physical problem, do you have difficulty walking 1 mile? Could you walk up and down every aisle of a grocery store without sitting down to rest or leaning on a cart?) were predictive of 400-m walking ability and were included in the model. If participants answered all three questions compatible with the inability to walk 400 m, there was a 91% probability that they were unable to walk 400 m, with a sensitivity of 46% and a specificity of 97%.


CONCLUSIONS
A three-item self-report developed in the study was able to accurately predict mobility disability. The utility of this instrument may be in evaluating self-reported mobility in large observational trials on mobility when functional mobility tasks are impractical to collect.
Sayers
Stephen P
SP
Human Physiology Laboratory, Department of Health Sciences, Sargent College of Rehabilitation Sciences, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. sayerss@missouri.edu <sayerss@missouri.edu>
Brach
Jennifer S
JS
Newman
Anne B
AB
Heeren
Tim C
TC
Guralnik
Jack M
JM
Fielding
Roger A
RA
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D016330:Frail Elderly / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012372:ROC Curve; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012647:Self-Assessment; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016138:Walking