Mobility Of Elderly People Research Articles

Standardisation of a Three-metre Walking Test for Elderly People

There is evidence that distance-limited timed walking tests are useful indicators of functional mobility in elderly people. However, since there is little consensus on how such tests should be conducted, the test parameters have been reviewed and a standard procedure for administering them to older people is suggested. Particular attention is paid to reducing any fear of falling people may experience while performing the test. To this end subjects walk along a corridor which is carefully set up to provide support if they feel unsteady. In addition, evidence from a pilot community study is presented which demonstrates that it may be possible to conduct this test in only about 50% of homes in inner-city areas. There is evidence that distance-limited timed walking tests are useful indicators of functional mobility in elderly people. However, since there is little consensus on how such tests should be conducted, the test parameters have been reviewed and a standard procedure for administering them to older people is suggested. Particular attention is paid to reducing any fear of falling people may experience while performing the test. To this end subjects walk along a corridor which is carefully set up to provide support if they feel unsteady. In addition, evidence from a pilot community study is presented which demonstrates that it may be possible to conduct this test in only about 50% of homes in inner-city areas.

Effects of a programme of multifactorial home visits on falls and mobility impairments in elderly people at risk: randomised controlled trial

Objective: To evaluate whether a programme of multifactorial home visits reduces falls and impairments in mobility in elderly people living in the community.Design: Randomised controlled trial with 18 months of...

Assessing mobility in elderly people. A review of performance-based measures of balance, gait and mobility for bedside use

Assessing mobility in elderly people. A review of performance-based measures of balance, gait and mobility for bedside use

Reduced bone density of the hip in elderly patients with Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a major cause of falls and reduced mobility in elderly people. Fractures often occur as a result of these falls but there have been no studies of bone mineral density (BMD) in PD. We have prospectively studied 29 elderly women (mean age 77 years) and 26 elderly men (mean age 74 years) with PD over 2 years and compared them with similar numbers of age- and sex-matched controls. Bone mineral density was measured by dual X-ray absorptiometry. Women were more likely to sustain fractures (38% compared with 8% of men). Mean BMD of the lumbar spine was similar in the 55 combined PD patients compared with combined controls. However, the total hip BMD was 10% lower (p = 0.014) and the neck of femur BMD 12% lower (p < 0.004) in the 51 PD patients compared with controls. The relatively lower hip BMD in elderly PD men and women combined with their abnormal gait and tendency to fall backwards or to the side may explain their excess risk of hip fractures, particularly in women. The neuromuscular deficit in PD may differentially reduce hip BMD relative to other sites and may thus be amenable to measures designed to improve mechanical loading in the lower limbs in the early stages of PD.

Roles of Car Passenger Transport on Mobility of Elderly People

Roles of Car Passenger Transport on Mobility of Elderly People

An Analysis on Relations between Mobility of Elderly People and Service Level of Public Transportation Systems

In Japan, public transportation system in many areas has suffered a severe decline with the decrease in population and the advance of motorization. There are a lot of elderly people who are unable to drive. When they go out, they are often obliged to use extremely inconvenient public transportation systems, or walk or go by bicycles if their destinations are relatively near, or have someone driven for them. Sometimes, they have to abandon planned outings for minor physical, climatic, or other reasons (“non-realized travel”).It is reasonable to conclude that limited mobility is increasing among the elderly because of a decline in the public transportation system which is commonly the only choice for non-drivers. The issue how to make the public transportaion services offer an appropriate level of mobility for elderly non-drivers.Thus, this study, at first, investigates the present situation by using the data of person trip survey which was taken in October 1989 in the Ryomo Region (including parts of Gunma Prefecture and Tochigi Prefecture) of Japan. Why we use this data base is because the average number of cars per family in Gunma Prefecture and Tochigi Prefecture are ranked in the first and the second respectively in Japan.Furthermore, the multiple regression analyses among the mobility and the service level of the public transportation system, the status of the elderly are carried out. In the study, the mobility means the percentage of the people having trips, the net trip number per person, and the travel time in one day. And the service level is represented by two kinds of indexes in geography and frequency. As the results, some suggestions are given for improving the public transportation system.