Association between gait speed and the SHARE Frailty Instrument in a Falls and Syncope Clinic

Eur Geriatr Med. 2021 Oct;12(5):1101-1105. doi: 10.1007/s41999-021-00509-0. Epub 2021 May 15.

Abstract

Purpose: Identifying physical frailty is useful in the context of falls and syncope assessment. The phenotype-based SHARE Frailty Instrument for Primary Care (SHARE-FI) does not measure gait speed. We evaluated the association between SHARE-FI and gait speed in a Falls' and Syncope Unit (FASU).

Methods: We recruited a pilot sample of patients aged 50 and over attending FASU between November 2019 and March 2020. The association between gait speed and SHARE-FI was assessed with the Spearman's co-efficient (rs). Logistic regression was conducted to investigate the association controlling for age, sex, body mass index, comorbidities and polypharmacy.

Results: 104 participants were included (34 frail) median (IQR) age 74 (68-79) years. 68 were female. There was a significant negative correlation between frailty and gait speed (rs - 0.54, P < 0.001). In the multivariable model, gait speed remained independently associated with frailty (OR 0.09, 95% CI 0.02-0.52, P = 0.007).

Conclusions: SHARE-FI significantly captured gait speed in this clinical sample, adding to its validity.

MeSH terms

  • Accidental Falls
  • Aged
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Female
  • Frail Elderly
  • Frailty* / diagnosis
  • Geriatric Assessment
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Syncope / diagnosis
  • Walking Speed