Abstract
The association between gait speed, a vital health outcome in older adults, and health literacy, an important health promotion aspect, is unclear. This study examined the relationship of gait speed with health literacy, physical function, and cognitive function in community-dwelling older adults. The subjects were 240 older adults (52 men, mean age 73.8 ± 6.0 years). Gender, age, and education were self-reported, while height and weight were measured directly. Health literacy was evaluated using Communicative and Critical Health Literacy (CCHL). Grip strength, knee extension strength, toe-grip strength, sit-up test, sit-and-reach test, one-leg stance test time, 30-s chair-stand test (CS-30), and normal gait speed were measured. Subjects were divided into two groups based on normal gait speed—fast (speed ≥ 1.3 m/s) and slow (<1.3 m/s). In the logistic regression analysis, the dependent variable was normal gait speed (fast/slow). Four logistic regression models were utilized to determine whether health literacy affects gait speed. Height and CCHL were found to independently affect gait speed. That health literacy influences gait speed is a new discovery.
Highlights
As Japan faces a super-aged society never before experienced in human history, a variety of health outcomes are being evaluated both in communities and in hospitals by industrial, government, and academic sectors to understand the extent of disabilities and to enable disease prevention and long-term care prevention
Logistic regression analysis was performed with gait speed as the dependent variable and Critical Health Literacy (CCHL) score, age, gender, height, physical function, and attentional function as independent variables
The results demonstrated that CCHL and height significantly affected gait speed in all models
Summary
As Japan faces a super-aged society never before experienced in human history, a variety of health outcomes are being evaluated both in communities and in hospitals by industrial, government, and academic sectors to understand the extent of disabilities and to enable disease prevention and long-term care prevention. Among these health outcomes, gait speed [1,2,3] has been identified as an extremely important indicator. Gait speed has been identified as a clinical indicator of the extent of disability in chronic respiratory [10,11,12] and cardiovascular disease [13]
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