A timed corridor walk was the most practical way to measure walking speed in a diabetes clinic

Design

Prospective feasibility study with repeat testing at 6 months, single UK general practice

Population

30 mobile adults attending a diabetes clinic, mean age 59.6 years

Primary outcome

Feasibility and agreement of three methods of measuring walking speed

Effect

Mean speed 1.12 m/s (timed walk), 1.15 (accelerometer), 1.01 (treadmill); recruitment 91%

Usual walking speed may predict cardiovascular disease in type 2 diabetes, but it is not routinely measured in UK primary care. This feasibility study approached consecutive mobile patients at a general practice diabetes clinic and recruited 30 of 33 (91%). Mean age was 59.6 years and 17% had cardiovascular disease.

Participants did a timed 28-metre walk (4 by 7 metres) in the surgery corridor wearing an accelerometer, then a 3-minute treadmill walk, and repeated the tests at six months (83% returned). Mean walking speeds were 1.12 m/s for the timed walk, 1.15 for accelerometry and 1.01 for the treadmill. Repeat tests agreed well; limits of agreement between the timed walk and treadmill were wide. The treadmill took longest and was the least feasible.

It establishes that a corridor walk is doable in a practice, not that walking speed should guide treatment. The sample was small, and the study did not test prediction of events.

• Recruitment was 91% (30 of 33) and 83% completed repeat testing at six months.
• The timed 28-metre corridor walk was the most feasible and acceptable test.
• Mean usual walking speed was about 1.1 m/s in this group.
• A treadmill test took longer and was least practical.
• The study did not examine whether walking speed predicts events or changes care.

Why it matters

A simple measure of function can be recorded in a few minutes without equipment, if it proves useful.

Don't overread it

This was a 30-person feasibility study and said nothing about predicting cardiovascular events.

The statistics, in plain English

Limits of agreement show how far two methods can differ for one person. Narrow limits mean they are interchangeable; wide limits, as between the timed walk and the treadmill, mean they should not be mixed when following one patient over time.

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