Associations between walking speed and participation, according to walking status in individuals with chronic stroke

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Reduced walking speed (WS) may lead to restrictions in participation of individuals with stroke, however, the relationships between WS and participation still need to better clarified. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relationships between WS and participation and compare the levels of participation of individuals with chronic stroke, who were stratified according to their walking status. METHODS: One-hundred and five individuals with stroke (58±12 years; 61 men) participated. WS was measured by the 10-meter walking test and reported in m/s. The participants were stratified into three walking status groups: household (WS <0.4m/s), limited-community (0.4m/s-0.8m/s), and full-community ambulation (>0.8m/s). Participation was assessed by the Brazilian version of the Assessment of Life Habits 3.1 (LIFE-H 3.1-Brazil). RESULTS: Between-group analyses revealed statistically significant differences between the household, limited-community, and full-community ambulators regarding the LIFE-H 3.1 total (F=17.5; p<0.0001), as well the daily activity (F=12.3; p<0.0001) and social role (F=19.0; p<0.0001) domain scores. Measures of WS were correlated with the daily activity (r=0.50, p<0.0001), social role (r=0.53, p<0.0001), total LIFE-H scores (r=0.53, p<0.0001), and most of the LIFE-H categories (r=0.23-0.56). CONCLUSIONS: WS was significantly correlated with participation and was able to distinguish between individuals with stroke, who had different levels of participation.