Is Timed Up and Go Better Than Gait Speed in Predicting Health, Function, and Falls in Older Adults?
- 15 March 2011
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
- Vol. 59 (5), 887-892
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-5415.2011.03336.x
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To assess whether the Timed Up and Go (TUG) is superior to gait speed in predicting multiple geriatric outcomes. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Medicare health maintenance organization and Veterans Affairs primary care clinics. PARTICIPANTS: Adults aged 65 and older (N=457). MEASUREMENTS: Baseline gait speed and TUG were used to predict health decline according to EuroQol and Medical Outcomes Study 36‐item Short Form Survey (SF‐36) global health; functional decline according to National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) activities of daily living (ADLs) score and SF‐36 physical function index; hospitalization; and any falls and multiple falls over 1 year. RESULTS: Mean age was 74, and 44% of participants were female. Odds ratios for all outcomes were equivalent for gait speed and TUG. Using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.7 or greater for acceptable predictive ability, gait speed and TUG each alone predicted decline in global health, new ADL difficulty, and falls, with no difference in predictive ability between performance measures. Neither performance measure predicted hospitalization, EuroQol decline, or physical function decline. As a continuous variable, TUG did not add predictive ability to gait speed for any outcome. CONCLUSION: Gait speed predicts most geriatric outcomes, including falls, as does TUG. The time taken to complete TUG may not add to information provided by gait speed, although its qualitative elements may have other utility.This publication has 30 references indexed in Scilit:
- Performance Measures Predict Onset of Activity of Daily Living Difficulty in Community‐Dwelling Older AdultsJournal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2010
- Quantitative Gait Markers and Incident Fall Risk in Older AdultsThe Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 2009
- Prognostic validity of the Timed Up-and-Go test, a modified Get-Up-and-Go test, staff's global judgement and fall history in evaluating fall risk in residential care facilitiesAge and Ageing, 2008
- A comparison of different balance tests in the prediction of falls in older women with vertebral fractures: a cohort studyAge and Ageing, 2006
- Prognostic Value of Usual Gait Speed in Well‐Functioning Older People—Results from the Health, Aging and Body Composition StudyJournal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2005
- Psychometric Comparisons of the Timed Up and Go, One‐Leg Stand, Functional Reach, and Tinetti Balance Measures in Community‐Dwelling Older PeopleJournal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2004
- Guideline for the Prevention of Falls in Older PersonsJournal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2001
- The MOS 36-ltem Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36)Medical Care, 1992
- EuroQol - a new facility for the measurement of health-related quality of lifeHealth Policy, 1990
- “Mini-mental state”: A practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinicianJournal of Psychiatric Research, 1975