Normal gait speed varies by age and sex but not by geographical region: a systematic review.

QUESTIONS: What are comfortable gait speed values for apparently healthy adults? How do these differ by age group, sex and geographical region?

DESIGN

Systematic review of observational studies with meta-analysis.

PARTICIPANTS

Apparently healthy, community-dwelling adults who have undergone measurement of comfortable gait speed.

SEARCH METHOD: Potentially relevant studies were identified in four databases. Extracted data from studies that satisfied the eligibility criteria were added to a database containing the same information from a meta-analysis published a decade ago.

OUTCOME MEASURES: The weighted mean comfortable gait speed was calculated along with the 95% confidence interval for each stratum of age/sex using a random-effects model. Mean gait speeds were further stratified by the continent where the study took place. Tests of homogeneity included I2 and prediction intervals.

RESULTS

Meta-analysis of data from 51,248 apparently healthy adults was stratified by age (in decades) and sex. Male gait speed slowed beyond age 50 years whereas female gait speed slowed beyond age 30 years. The weighted mean gait speed ranged from 97 cm/s (females aged ≥ 80 years) to 140 cm/s (males aged 40 to 49 years). The I2 values ranged from 0 to 34.07; prediction interval ranges varied from a low of 30 (125 to 155 cm/s; males aged 40 to 49 years) to a high of 77 (83 to 160 cm/s; females aged 60 to 69 years). There was considerable overlap in confidence intervals between continents for each sex/age group.

CONCLUSIONS

Comfortable gait speed slowed through the adult years, but males maintained a faster walking speed than females. Further stratification of comfortable gait speed by geographical region is not warranted.