Association of Gait Quality With Daily-Life Mobility: An Actigraphy and Global Positioning System Based Analysis in Older Adults

Anisha Suri, Jessie VanSwearingen, Emma M. Baillargeon, Breanna M. Crane, Kyle D. Moored, Michelle C. Carlson, Pamela M. Dunlap, Patrick T. Donahue, Mark S. Redfern, Jennifer S. Brach, Ervin Sejdić, Andrea L. Rosso

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

—Objective: Walking is a key component of daily-life mobility. We examined associations between laboratory-measured gait quality and daily-life mobility through Actigraphy and Global Positioning System (GPS). We also assessed the relationship between two modalities of daily-life mobility i.e., Actigraphy and GPS. Methods: In community-dwelling older adults (N = 121, age = 77±5 years, 70% female, 90% white), we obtained gait quality from a 4-m instrumented walkway (gait speed, walk-ratio, variability) and accelerometry during 6-Minute Walk (adaptability, similarity, smoothness, power, and regularity). Physical activity measures of step-count and intensity were captured from an Actigraph. Time out-of-home, vehicular time, activity-space, and circularity were quantified using GPS. Partial Spearman correlations between laboratory gait quality and daily-life mobility were calculated. Linear regression was used to model step-count as a function of gait quality. ANCOVA and Tukey analysis compared GPS measures across activity groups [high, medium, low] based on step-count. Age, BMI, and sex were used as covariates. Results: Greater gait speed, adaptability, smoothness, power, and lower regularity were associated with higher step-counts (0.20<|ρp| < 0.26, p < .05). Age(β = −0.37), BMI(β = −0.30), speed(β = 0.14), adaptability(β = 0.20), and power(β = 0.18), explained 41.2% variance in step-count. Gait characteristics were not related to GPS measures. Participants with high (>4800 steps) compared to low activity (steps<3100) spent more time out-of-home (23 vs 15%), more vehicular travel (66 vs 38 minutes), and larger activity-space (5.18 vs 1.88 km2), all p < .05. Conclusions: Gait quality beyond speed contributes to physical activity. Physical activity and GPS-derived measures capture distinct aspects of daily-life mobility. Wearable-derived measures should be considered in gait and mobility-related interventions.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)130-138
Number of pages9
JournalIEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering
Volume71
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2024

Keywords

  • Mobility behavior
  • gait analysis
  • physical activity
  • wearables

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biomedical Engineering

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