Calculation of average walking speed in turkish geriatric population and evaluation of the relationship between comprehensive geriatric assessment parameters

Introduction: As age advances, various changes occur in walking mechanics and walking speed. Aging is associated with several physiological changes, including those in walking mechanics and walking speed. This study aims to obtain data on the average walking speed in the Turkish geriatric population and examine its relationship with comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) parameters, particularly falls. Materials and Methods: This study is a retrospective study. The study included 2107 patients who were followed up in the Department of Geriatrics at Dokuz Eylül University Hospital between 2016 and 2023 and were aged 60 years and older, including the 4-meter walking test. Results: 2107 patients were included in the study. The average walking speed of 2107 patients included in the study was 0.96 ± 0.07 m/sec. 1360 of the patients were women (65%) and 747 were men (35%). 287 (14%) of the patients were under the age of 65, 925 (44%) were between the ages of 65-75, 763 (36%) were between the ages of 75-85, and 132 (6%) were between the ages of 85-95. . Between these two groups, the walking speed of men was found to be significantly higher (p = 0.000). There was a positive correlation between walking speed and POMA score, Barthel score, Lawton score, MMSE score, MOCA score, MNA score (p = 0.000 for each). When a logistic regression model was created to describe the relationship between walking speed and fall risk; It has been shown that every 0.1 m/s increase in walking speed is associated with an 8%-12% reduction in fall risk with a 95% confidence interval. Conclusion: As a result, we found that the average walking speed for the Turkish population is 0.96 m/sec and that a 0.1 m/sec increase in walking speed is associated with an 8-12% decrease in the risk of falling. Additionally, walking speed appears to have the potential to predict CGA parameters. For this reason, determining walking speed is especially important when evaluating geriatric cases. Keywords: Walking speed, Comprehensive geriatric assessment, Falls