ABSTRACT
Four-year longitudinal changes in walking ability were examined in 510 older adults in a rural community in Japan. The participants walked on an 11-m walkway at their preferred and maximum speeds, and velocity, step length, step rate, and walk ratio (step length/step rate) were measured. Physical performance, including muscle strength, balance, and manual skill, was examined concur rently. An age-related decline in all variables except for step rate was confirmed in the longitudinal as well as cross-sectional data. The longitudinal decline accelerated for participants in their seventies and over, as compared to those in their sixties. Grip strength, balance, and manual speed, measured at the baseline, predicted relative changes in walking velocity over four years. The risk of mortality and instrumental ADL decline in four years were also predicted by maximum walking velocity at the baseline. These results suggest that the walking test has discriminant and predictive validities for assessing the physical functioning of community-dwelling older adults.