Systematic review of timed stair tests

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Functional testing is crucial for clinical practice and research translation.
• Identifying universally applicable measures across diverse age groups and conditions remains a challenge.
• Timed stair tests are explored as objective functional assessment tools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review timed stair tests as objective measures of functional abilities and musculoskeletal integrity.
• To analyze the ability of timed stair tests to differentiate between control and patient groups.
• To assess the utility of timed stair tests across various ages and medical conditions.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature review of Medline, CINAHL, and PubMed databases (up to February 2012).
• Inclusion of 88 studies with varying methodologies (stair ascent, descent, or combined).
• Calculation of time per step for inter-study comparisons, grouped by methodology, age, and condition.

Main Results:

• Timed stair tests demonstrated sensitivity to medical conditions across a wide age range.
• Ascent, descent, and combined stair times increased with age and were affected by various medical problems.
• Significant variability in methodologies across the included studies was observed.

Conclusions:

• Timed stair tests are sensitive indicators of functional impairment in various populations.
• Further research is needed to establish normative values for timed stair tests.
• Standardized protocols, incorporating both ascent and descent with a focus on speed and safety, are recommended.