Relationships between different walking speeds and body composition or standing balance in home-care patients with Parkinsonʼs disease

Abstract

To determine an appropriate method to measure gait speed in patients with Parkinsonʼs disease (PD), the maximum, normal, and slow gait speeds of 14 PDpatients(6 males, 8 females, 71.3±6.1 years), who were able to walk independently and living at home,were measured, and their relationships with various balance test results and the skeletal muscle volume were analyzed. Normal gait speed was only significantly correlated with the Timed up & go test (TUG) score, whereas maximum gait speed was significantly correlated with the height, and TUG and Functional reach test (FRT) scores. Slow gait speed was significantly correlated with skeletal, upper/lower limb, and trunk muscle volumes. Furthermore, the difference between the maximum and slow gait speeds was significantly correlated with height, skeletal, upper/lower limb, and trunk muscle volumes, and TUG and FRT scores. The results highlight the importance of assessing gait at low speeds, in addition to maximum speeds, rather than normal speeds, in PD patients.