Gait speed and risk assessment for falls among men aged 80 years and older: A prospective cohort study in Taiwan

PURPOSE To evaluate the effectiveness of adding gait speed to the history of falls in predicting falls among men aged 80years and older in Taiwan. METHODS This prospective cohort study recruited 230 ambulatory men aged 80years and older in 2012 and followed for 12months. In addition to demographic characteristics and history of falls, a comprehensive geriatric assessment was performed for all study subjects. Gait speed was obtained by the 6-m walk and three different cut-offs (RESULTS Among all subjects (mean age: 85.5±4.0years), 26.1% (60/230) reported falls during follow-up period. Univariate analysis showed that polypharmacy, urinary incontinence, history of falls, pain, poorer baseline physical function, depressive mood, and gait speedCONCLUSIONS Combined history of falls and gait speed is a simple and effective tool in risk assessment of falls among older old population.