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Multiple gait parameters derived from iPod accelerometry predict age-related gait changes.
Nienke M Kosse1, Nicolas Vuillerme2, Tibor Hortobágyi3
1University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Center for Human Movement Sciences, The Netherlands; Univ. Grenoble-Alpes, AGIM, La Tronche, France.
Gait & Posture
|May 1, 2016
Summary
Healthy younger adults exhibit more variable, less predictable, and more symmetrical gait patterns than older adults. This study identified key gait dynamics variables capable of distinguishing between these age groups.
Area of Science:
- Biomechanics
- Gerontology
- Human Movement Science
Background:
- Normative gait data in aging is crucial for identifying pathological changes.
- Understanding age-related gait dynamics provides a baseline for clinical assessments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify gait variables sensitive to age-related changes across the adult lifespan.
- To assess the ability of these variables to differentiate young (18-45) from healthy older (46-75) adults.
Main Methods:
- Trunk accelerations were recorded using an iPod Touch in 59 healthy adults during overground walking.
- Gait variables, including speed and accelerometry-based measures (e.g., stride, amplitude, frequency), were analyzed.
- Multivariate partial least square (PLS) and PLS-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) were employed to identify age-sensitive variables and classify age groups.
Main Results:
- The PLS model explained 42% of age-related variation, highlighting mean stride time, phase variability index, root mean square, stride variability, AP sample entropy, and ML maximal Lyaponov exponent as influential.
- PLS-DA achieved 83% correct classification of participants, with 83% sensitivity and 71% specificity in distinguishing young from older adults.
Conclusions:
- Contrary to expectations for frail populations, healthy younger adults demonstrated more variable, less predictable, and more symmetrical gait than healthy older adults.
- A combined model of gait dynamics variables effectively distinguished healthy younger from older adults.
