Centre for Policy on Ageing



Walking ability and its relationship to self-rated health in later life
Author(s)	Steward Neufeld, Katerina Machacova, Jana Mossey, Mark Luborsky
Journal title	Clinical Gerontologist, vol 36, no 1, January-February 2013
Publisher	Taylor & Francis, January-February 2013
Pages	pp 17-32
Source	http://www.tandfonline.com
Keywords	Health [elderly] ; Evaluation ; Physical capacity ; Walking.
Annotation	This study investigated the relationship between self-assessed overall health (SRH) and walking ability among older adults gauged using three well-established measures of walking ability (`normal' and `fast' walking speeds, and perceived walking difficulty). Logistic regression models adjusted for health, behavioural, and sociodemographic variables were used to estimate the relationship between the three measures of walking ability and SRH. Walking ability was significantly associated with SRH; notably, only normal walking speed discriminated between participants in all three SRH comparisons (good versus poor/bad, good versus fair, or excellent versus good). Health care providers, family and friends should be attentive to reduced walking speed or complaints about difficulty walking because these are harbingers of health decline. (JL).
Accession Number	CPA-130823249 A
Classmark	CC: 4C: BI: HSA
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing

...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.