A study of factors affecting the stride interval variability of the community-dwelling elderly

Abstract

[Purpose] To clarify the factors affecting the stride variability of the elderly at different gait speeds. [Subjects] The subjects were 12 healthy young persons and 10 community-dwelling elderly persons. [Methods] At three different gait speeds, the stride, step, and single- and double-leg support times were determined, and their coefficients of variance (CV), and the ratios of each variable relative to stride were calculated. Then, regression analysis was performed with the CVs of stride and step as the dependent variables. [Results] At all of the gait speeds, the time variance of elderly subjects was greater than that of the young subjects, and under the fast gait speed condition, due to a change in gait strategy, the ratio of the double-leg support time was reduced. Independent of gait speed, the CV of single-leg support time affected the gait cycle time variation. [Conclusion] The results suggest the CV of single-leg support time makes a large contribution to the CV of stride.