TY - JOUR
T1 - Age and walking conditions differently affect domains of gait
AU - Hagoort, Iris
AU - Vuillerme, Nicolas
AU - Hortobágyi, Tibor
AU - Lamoth, Claudine J.C.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the French National Research Agency in the framework of the Investissements d'avenir program ( ANR-10-AIRT-05 and ANR-15-IDEX-02 ). The sponsors had no involvement in the review and approval of the manuscript for publication. This work forms part of a broader interdisciplinary project, GaitAlps.
Funding Information:
This work was supported by the French National Research Agency in the framework of the Investissements d'avenir program (ANR-10-AIRT-05 and ANR-15-IDEX-02). The sponsors had no involvement in the review and approval of the manuscript for publication. This work forms part of a broader interdisciplinary project, GaitAlps. The present scientific contribution is dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the foundation of the Institute of Sport Sciences and Physical Education, Faculty of Sciences, University of Pécs.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors
PY - 2023/6
Y1 - 2023/6
N2 - Introduction: Analysing gait in controlled conditions that resemble daily life walking could overcome the limitations associated with gait analysis in uncontrolled real-world conditions. Such analyses could potentially aid the identification of a walking condition that magnifies age-differences in gait. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to determine the effects of age and walking conditions on gait performance. Methods: Trunk accelerations of young (n = 27, age: 21.6) and older adults (n = 26, age: 68.9) were recorded for 3 min in four conditions: walking up and down a university hallway on a track of 10 m; walking on a specified path, including turns, in a university hallway; walking outside on a specified path on a pavement including turns; and walking on a treadmill. Factor analysis was used to reduce 27 computed gait measures to five independent gait domains. A multivariate analysis of variance was used to examine the effects of age and walking condition on these gait domains. Results: Factor analysis yielded 5 gait domains: variability, pace, stability, time & frequency, complexity, explaining 64% of the variance in 27 gait outcomes. Walking conditions affected all gait domains (p < 0.01) but age only affected the time & frequency domain (p < 0.05). Age and walking conditions differently affected the domains variability, stability, time & frequency. The largest age-differences occurred mainly during straight walking in a hallway (variability: 31% higher in older adults), or during treadmill walking (stability: 224% higher, time&frequency: 120% lower in older adults). Conclusion: Walking conditions affect all domains of gait independent of age. Treadmill walking and walking on a straight path in a hallway, were the most constrained walking conditions in terms of limited possibilities to adjust step characteristics. The age by condition interaction suggests that for the gait domains variability, stability, and time & frequency, the most constrained walking conditions seem to magnify the age-differences in gait.
AB - Introduction: Analysing gait in controlled conditions that resemble daily life walking could overcome the limitations associated with gait analysis in uncontrolled real-world conditions. Such analyses could potentially aid the identification of a walking condition that magnifies age-differences in gait. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to determine the effects of age and walking conditions on gait performance. Methods: Trunk accelerations of young (n = 27, age: 21.6) and older adults (n = 26, age: 68.9) were recorded for 3 min in four conditions: walking up and down a university hallway on a track of 10 m; walking on a specified path, including turns, in a university hallway; walking outside on a specified path on a pavement including turns; and walking on a treadmill. Factor analysis was used to reduce 27 computed gait measures to five independent gait domains. A multivariate analysis of variance was used to examine the effects of age and walking condition on these gait domains. Results: Factor analysis yielded 5 gait domains: variability, pace, stability, time & frequency, complexity, explaining 64% of the variance in 27 gait outcomes. Walking conditions affected all gait domains (p < 0.01) but age only affected the time & frequency domain (p < 0.05). Age and walking conditions differently affected the domains variability, stability, time & frequency. The largest age-differences occurred mainly during straight walking in a hallway (variability: 31% higher in older adults), or during treadmill walking (stability: 224% higher, time&frequency: 120% lower in older adults). Conclusion: Walking conditions affect all domains of gait independent of age. Treadmill walking and walking on a straight path in a hallway, were the most constrained walking conditions in terms of limited possibilities to adjust step characteristics. The age by condition interaction suggests that for the gait domains variability, stability, and time & frequency, the most constrained walking conditions seem to magnify the age-differences in gait.
KW - Aging
KW - Factor analysis
KW - Gait
KW - Indoor and outdoor conditions
KW - Treadmill
U2 - 10.1016/j.humov.2023.103075
DO - 10.1016/j.humov.2023.103075
M3 - Article
C2 - 36940500
AN - SCOPUS:85150352110
SN - 0167-9457
VL - 89
JO - Human Movement Science
JF - Human Movement Science
M1 - 103075
ER -