Abstract
Taller individuals walk faster but it is unknown whether this advantage persists at older ages. We examined the cross-sectional/longitudinal associations of height with gait speed (GS) in participants from the Dijon-Three-City cohort study (France) over 11 years. In 4011 participants (65–85 y), we measured usual/fast GS (6 m) up to five times. We examined whether the baseline height-GS association varied with age using linear regression, and whether height influenced GS change using linear mixed models. Taller participants 65 y at baseline walked faster than shorter ones (fast GS difference between top/bottom height quartiles, 0.100 m/s, P < 0.001); this association weakened with age (P-interaction = 0.02), with a 0.012 m/s (P = 0.57) difference at 80 y. Ten-year fast GS decline was 51% greater (P < 0.001) in younger participants in the top height quartile (−0.183 m/s) compared to those in the bottom quartile (−0.121 m/s), leading the GS difference between the two groups to be attenuated by 50% over the follow-up. The height-related difference in fast GS decline was not explained by time-dependent comorbidities or height shrinkage. Analyses for usual GS yielded consistent findings. The height-GS relation is more complex than previously thought, as the height related advantage in GS disappears as persons grow older due to faster decline in taller compared to shorter persons.
Highlights
The ability to walk is essential for independent living and the speed of walking declines with age[1]
We used data from up to five gait speed assessments over 11 years in the French City (3 C)-Dijon cohort study to examine, in adults aged 65–85 years, whether the cross-sectional association with height varied with age and whether height influenced change in gait speed over the follow-up
Based on a large cohort of older adults followed for 11 years with up to five assessments of gait speed, we examined whether the cross-sectional association with height varied with age and whether height influenced change in gait speed over the follow-up
Summary
The ability to walk is essential for independent living and the speed of walking declines with age[1]. Taller stature is associated with faster gait speed, the extent to which this advantage persists into old age or is amplified or attenuated at older ages is not known. Our research question is whether the gait speed advantage of taller stature is lost with age. To address this question, we investigated to which extent the association between taller stature and faster gait speed persists into old age. We used data from up to five gait speed assessments over 11 years in the French City (3 C)-Dijon cohort study to examine, in adults aged 65–85 years, whether the cross-sectional association with height varied with age and whether height influenced change in gait speed over the follow-up
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