title: Higher gait speed and smaller sway area decrease the risk for decline in higher-level functional capacity among middle-aged and elderly women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study assessed whether physical function can indicate a risk of decline in higher-level functional capacity.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were derived from the National Institute for Longevity Sciences-Longitudinal Study of Aging. Subjects comprised 466 men and 495 women aged 40-79 years at baseline (1997-2000), whose total score for the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology Index of Competence (TMIG-IC) at baseline was ≥11 and who participated in the follow-up survey. Baseline physical function examination included grip strength, comfortable gait speed, and sway area with eyes open. A decline in higher-level functional capacity was defined as a ≥2-point decrease in the TMIG-IC score after 14 years. The odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for decline in the TMIG-IC score for 14 years according to a 1-standard deviation (SD) increase in physical function measurements at baseline were estimated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Subjects with decreased TMIG-IC scores included 78 (16.7%) men and 80 (16.2%) women. In women, the multivariate-adjusted OR (95% CI) for a TMIG-IC score decrease with a 1-SD increase in comfortable gait speed was 0.68 (0.50-0.92; p=0.013), and that with a 1-SD increase in sway area with eyes open was 1.49 (1.17-1.90; p=0.001). Grip strength was not associated with TMIG-IC score decline. None of the physical performance measures affected TMIG-IC score declines in men.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that gait speed decreases and sway area increases might predict a risk of decline in higher-level functional capacity among middle-aged and elderly women.
authors: Section of Longitudinal Study of Aging, National Institute for Longevity Science (NILS-LSA), National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Aichi, Japan. Electronic address: mariko.nakamoto1@gmail.com.
authors: Mariko
authors: M
authors: Nakamoto
authors: Section of Longitudinal Study of Aging, National Institute for Longevity Science (NILS-LSA), National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Aichi, Japan.
authors: Rei
authors: R
authors: Otsuka
authors: Section of Longitudinal Study of Aging, National Institute for Longevity Science (NILS-LSA), National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Aichi, Japan; Faculty of Education, Kochi University, Kochi, Japan.
authors: Atsumu
authors: A
authors: Yuki
authors: Section of Longitudinal Study of Aging, National Institute for Longevity Science (NILS-LSA), National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Aichi, Japan.
authors: Yukiko
authors: Y
authors: Nishita
authors: Section of Longitudinal Study of Aging, National Institute for Longevity Science (NILS-LSA), National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Aichi, Japan.
authors: Chikako
authors: C
authors: Tange
authors: Section of Longitudinal Study of Aging, National Institute for Longevity Science (NILS-LSA), National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Aichi, Japan; Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
authors: Makiko
authors: M
authors: Tomida
authors: Section of Longitudinal Study of Aging, National Institute for Longevity Science (NILS-LSA), National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Aichi, Japan.
authors: Yuki
authors: Y
authors: Kato
authors: Section of Longitudinal Study of Aging, National Institute for Longevity Science (NILS-LSA), National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Aichi, Japan; Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Aichi Shukutoku University, Aichi, Japan.
authors: Fujiko
authors: F
authors: Ando
authors: Section of Longitudinal Study of Aging, National Institute for Longevity Science (NILS-LSA), National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Aichi, Japan; Graduate School of Nutritional Sciences, Nagoya University of Arts and Sciences, Aichi, Japan.
authors: Hiroshi
authors: H
authors: Shimokata
authors: Research Institute, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Aichi, Japan.
authors: Takao
authors: T
authors: Suzuki
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D018737:Hand Strength; D006801:Humans; D008136:Longevity; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012306:Risk; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014041:Tokyo; D016138:Walking
keywords: Gait speed; Higher-level functional capacity; Longitudinal study; Sway area