Gait differences between COPD and healthy controls: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Area of Science:

• Pulmonary Medicine
• Geriatrics
• Biomechanics

Background:

• Gait is crucial for mobility, independence, and survival in older adults.
• Gait impairment is recognized as a significant risk factor for falls, disability, and mortality.
• Understanding gait alterations in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is limited but vital.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and identify differences in gait characteristics during supervised walking tests.
• To compare gait parameters between individuals with COPD and healthy controls.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive systematic literature search was conducted across 11 electronic databases, supplemented by Google Scholar and manual reference checks.
• Data screening, extraction, and quality assessment were performed independently by two reviewers.
• Meta-analyses were conducted on studies deemed not at high risk of bias.

Main Results:

• The review included 25 studies with 1015 people with COPD and 2229 healthy controls.
• Low-quality evidence indicates people with COPD walk significantly slower than controls at usual (MD -19 cm·s⁻¹) and fast speeds (MD -30 cm·s⁻¹).
• No statistically significant alterations were found in other gait characteristics like step length, duration, cadence, or width.

Conclusions:

• Individuals with COPD exhibit slower gait speeds compared to healthy individuals, suggesting a potential contribution to increased falls risk.
• Evidence regarding specific spatial and temporal gait component alterations in COPD remains inconclusive.
• Gait impairment represents a critical, yet under-researched, aspect of COPD management.