Timed walking tests are valid measurements to predict community walking in patients with Parkinson disease, say authors of an article published online in Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine. However, evaluation of community walking also should include an assessment of fear of falling, they add.

For this investigation, researchers used data from baseline assessments in a randomized clinical trial. A total of 153 patients with Parkinson disease were included. Community walking was evaluated using the mobility domain of the Nottingham Extended Activities of Daily Living Index. Patients who scored 3 points on item 1 ("Did you walk around outside?") and item 5 ("Did you cross roads?") were considered community walkers. Gait speed was measured with the 6-meter or 10-meter timed walking test. Age, gender, marital status, disease duration, disease severity, motor impairment, balance, freezing of gait, fear of falling, previous falls, cognitive function, executive function, fatigue, anxiety, and depression were investigated for their contribution to the multivariate model.

Seventy patients (46%) were classified as community walkers. A gait speed of 0.88 meter per second correctly predicted 70% of patients as community walkers. The multivariate model, including gait speed and fear of falling, correctly predicted 78% of patients as community walkers.