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Walking Time (walking + time)
Selected AbstractsMultitasking: Association Between Poorer Performance and a History of Recurrent FallsJOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 4 2007Kimberly A. Faulkner PhD OBJECTIVES: To examine the association between poorer performance on concurrent walking and reaction time and recurrent falls. DESIGN: Cross-sectional analysis. SETTING: Community. PARTICIPANTS: Three hundred seventy-seven older community-dwelling adults (mean age±standard deviation 78±3). MEASUREMENTS: Reaction times on push-button and visual-spatial decision tasks were assessed while seated and while walking a 20-m course (straight walk) and a 20-m course with a turn at 10 m (turn walk). Walking times were recorded while walking only and while performing a reaction-time response. Dual-task performance was calculated as the percentage change in task times when done in dual-task versus single-task conditions. A history of recurrent falls (,2 vs ,1 falls) in the prior 12 months was self-reported. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to predict the standardized odds ratios (ORs) of recurrent falls history. The standardized unit for dual-task performance ORs was interquartile range/2. RESULTS: On the push-button task during the turn walk, poorer reaction time response (slower) was associated with 28% lower (P=.04) odds of recurrent fall history. On the visual-spatial task, poorer walking-time response (slower) was associated with 34% (P=.02) and 42% (P=.01) higher odds of recurrent falls history on the straight and turn walks, respectively. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that walking more slowly in response to a visual-spatial decision task may identify individuals at risk for multiple falls. Prospective studies are needed to confirm the prognostic value of poor walking responses in a dual-task setting for multiple falls. [source] Walking and Talking as Predictors of Falls in the General Population: The Leiden 85-Plus StudyJOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 10 2003Annetje Bootsma-van der Wiel MD Objectives: To compare the value of dual tasking in predicting falling in the general population of oldest old with that of easy-to-administer single tasks. Design: Prospective population-based follow-up study. Setting: Municipality of Leiden, the Netherlands. Participants: Representative cohort of 380 individuals, all aged 85 at baseline. Measurements: During enrollment, walking time over a 12-meter distance was measured, as well as the verbal fluency to recite names of animals or professions during a 30-second period. In the dual task, performance was assessed when participants combined walking with reciting names. Incidence of falls and fractures was assessed by interviewing participants and checking their medical histories. Results: After 1 year of follow-up, 42% of the participants reported one or more falls, and 4% suffered a fracture. Total walking time, number of steps, and verbal fluency were all strongly related to incident falls (P for trend for all <.01), but dual-task performance was not a better predictor for incident falls than single-task performance. Conclusion: The dual-task test in this study had no predictive value above that of a single-task test to predict falling. Dual tasks with more-sensitive measures of impaired dual-task execution might have better test characteristics. In this study, history of falls and performance on an easy-to-administer single walking task identified old persons at higher risk for falling who could benefit from fall preventive strategies. [source] Temperature influences walking speed and walking activity of Trichogramma brassicae (Hym., Trichogrammatidae)JOURNAL OF APPLIED ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 6 2001B. P. Suverkropp Walking speeds and walking activities (walking time divided by total time) of Trichogramma brassicae were determined at 12, 16, 20 and 25°C. Walking speed was measured during a 5-min period, and walking activity over a 4-day period. Both walking speed and walking activity were strongly influenced by temperature. Walking speed increased linearly with the temperature and was twice as high at 20 as at 12°C. At 25°C, walking activity was high during the whole day, at 20 and 16°C it decreased during the afternoon, whereas at 12°C the wasps became most active only at noon or later. At low temperatures, there was a strong individual variation in walking activity. At 25°C, T. brassicae was active most of the time, so the area searched per time unit can only increase at temperatures above 25°C if walking speed increases. At temperatures below 20°C, searching was more restricted by low walking activity than by low walking speed. Even disregarding other effects of temperature, the reduction in walking speed and walking activity at suboptimal temperatures means that T. brassicae can only search half of the area at 20°C, and only one-seventh at 15°C that it can search at 25°C. [source] Anaesthesia , a sedentary specialty?ANAESTHESIA, Issue 3 2008Accelerometer assessment of the activity level of anaesthetists while at work Summary Current guidance recommends that all adults should take a minimum of 10 000 steps a day to remain healthy. We assessed the activity levels of 45 anaesthetists while at work, using accelerometers. These devices also allowed us to measure sitting, standing and walking time , features of the working day that are also likely to contribute to health and well-being. In addition, each anaesthetist was asked to guess how many steps they had taken and complete a questionnaire assessing current activity levels. Median (IQR [range]) number of steps taken per day at work was 3694 (2435,4646 [1444,7712]). Almost all anaesthetists underestimated the number of steps they had taken. We concluded that no anaesthetists in our study were able to take the recommended 10 000 steps solely during their working day. A concerted effort is required in recreational time to ensure anaesthetists stay fit and healthy. [source] Association of 25-hydroxyvitamin D with prevalent osteoarthritis of the hip in elderly men: The osteoporotic fractures in men studyARTHRITIS & RHEUMATISM, Issue 2 2010R. K. Chaganti Objective To examine the cross-sectional association of serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, or 25(OH)D, with prevalent radiographic hip osteoarthritis (OA) in elderly men. Methods In a cohort of 1,104 elderly men from the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study, 25(OH)D serum levels were determined by mass spectrometry, followed by pelvic radiographs ,4.6 years later. Categories of vitamin D levels were defined as follows: deficiency as ,15 ng/ml, insufficiency as 15.1,30 ng/ml, and sufficiency as >30 ng/ml. Radiographs were assessed for severity of hip OA using a summary grade of 0,4 for individual features of hip OA. Logistic regression was used to assess associations of serum 25(OH)D levels with prevalent radiographic hip OA; covariates included age, clinic site, season at the time of blood withdrawal, self-reported hip pain for >30 days, timed 6-meter walk, presence of at least 1 coexisting condition, and self-rated health status. Results Men with radiographic hip OA had a slower 6-meter walking time (P < 0.0001), reported more hip pain (P = 0.0001), had a lower vitamin D level (P = 0.0002), and had a higher prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency (P = 0.002) and vitamin D deficiency (P = 0.012) compared with controls. Higher 25(OH)D levels were associated with a lower prevalence of radiographic hip OA (odds ratio [OR] 1.39 per 1 SD decrease in 25[OH]D, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.11,1.74) after adjusting for age, season, and clinic site. Men with vitamin D insufficiency had an increased likelihood of prevalent radiographic hip OA (OR 2.19, 95% CI 1.21,3.97) compared with men with sufficient levels of 25(OH)D, and in men with vitamin D deficiency, there was a tendency toward an increased likelihood of radiographic hip OA (OR 1.99, 95% CI 0.83,4.74). Conclusion Men with vitamin D deficiencies are twice as likely to have prevalent radiographic hip OA, and therefore vitamin D therapy to augment skeletal health in the elderly is warranted. [source] | ||||||||||