Large variations in walking, standing up from a chair, and balance in women and men over 85 years: an observational study

Questions

What is the physical ability of very old people? Is physical ability affected by age or sex? Is it affected by type of housing, level of independence in activities of daily living, cognition, or nutrition?

Design

A population-based cross-sectional observational study.

Participants

Half the 85-year-old population, and the total population aged 90 and ≥ 95 (range 95–103) in Umeå, Sweden who were measured in the Umeå 85+ Study (n = 238).

Outcome measures

Usual and fastest gait speed (m/s) over 2.4 metres, three consecutive chair stands (s), the Berg Balance Scale, and ability to perform the measures (yes/no).

Results

The median (10^th to 90^th percentile) usual gait speed was 0.49 m/s (0.23–0.75), time to perform the chair stands test was 12.6 seconds (8.5–20.2), and the Berg Balance Scale score was 45 (0–54). Men had greater physical ability than women. An age-related decline in physical ability was seen in women, but not in men. The Berg Balance Scale showed no floor or ceiling effects, but gait speed and chair stands resulted in a floor effect, especially for women.

Conclusion

There were large variations in physical ability in these very old people. These data provide valuable reference values of physical ability in the oldest age groups for commonly-used clinical measures.