Greenercise

Faster walking speed may signal longer life

The role of walking speed as a meaningful marker of function in older people was addressed in a study reported in a previous issue of ICAA Research Review (9[43] 2009) that linked slower walking speeds to increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease. A new study used a larger pool of people to discover if walking speed could be used as an indicator of potential longevity.

STUDY: A pooled analysis of nine studies included 34,485 community-dwelling adults ages 65 years and older who were followed for 6-21 years. Participants had an average age of 73.5 years, 59.6% were women and 79.8% were white. Gait speed of the individual’s usual walking pace was calculated using distance in meters and time in seconds.

FINDINGS: The overall 5-year survival rate was 84.8%; the 10-year survival rate was 59.7%. As gait speed increased, the predicted years of survival also increased. Gait speeds of 1.0 meter (3.3 feet)/second or higher consistently demonstrated survival that was longer than expected by age and sex alone.

COMMENT: “In every population—no matter how old they were, what sex they were, what kind of health conditions they had—there was a strong relationship between walking speed and survival,” said first author Stephanie Studenski, MD, MPH, of the University of Pittsburgh. “This kind of information might be useful and valuable to the health care system, to doctors, families and patients in giving them a sense of their own vitality and longevity.”