Associations between walking speed and participation, according to walking status in individuals with chronic stroke

Abstract

Background: Reduced walking speed (WS) may lead to restrictions in participation of individuals with stroke, however, the relationships between WS and participation still need to better clarified.

Objective: To evaluate the relationships between WS and participation and compare the levels of participation of individuals with chronic stroke, who were stratified according to their walking status.

Methods: One-hundred and five individuals with stroke (58±12 years; 61 men) participated. WS was measured by the 10-meter walking test and reported in m/s. The participants were stratified into three walking status groups: household (WS <0.4 m/s), limited-community (0.4 m/s-0.8 m/s), and full-community ambulation (>0.8 m/s). Participation was assessed by the Brazilian version of the Assessment of Life Habits 3.1 (LIFE-H 3.1-Brazil).

Results: Between-group analyses revealed statistically significant differences between the household, limited-community, and full-community ambulators regarding the LIFE-H 3.1 total (F = 17.5; p < 0.0001), as well the daily activity (F = 12.3; p < 0.0001) and social role (F = 19.0; p < 0.0001) domain scores. Measures of WS were correlated with the daily activity (r = 0.50, p < 0.0001), social role (r = 0.53, p < 0.0001), total LIFE-H scores (r = 0.53, p < 0.0001), and most of the LIFE-H categories (r = 0.23-0.56).

Conclusions: WS was significantly correlated with participation and was able to distinguish between individuals with stroke, who had different levels of participation.

Keywords: Walking speed; social participation; stroke.