The relationship between the stipulated tempo step test, daily activity ability and gait time in elderly

This study is aimed at examining the relationship between stipulated tempo step tests, daily activity ability, and gait time. One hundred and thirty healthy elderly women performed the step test in which they stepped in place for 20 s while matching a metronome beat to tempos of 40, 60, and 120 bpm, respectively. The evaluation parameter was the time difference between the metronome sound and the time when subject's foot hit the ground. The subjects were divided into four groups according to (1) whether they had experienced a fall and (2) activity level. The time difference showed significantly greater variance in the order of 40, 60 and 120 bpm in both groups of high activity and low activity. A significant time difference between groups was found only in the 40 bpm tempo where the low activity group's value was higher. The correlations between the time difference and gait time were significant in all tempos of both groups (r = 0.24–0.41). The time differences in 40 and 60 bpm step tests showed significant and moderate correlations (r = 0.52–0.60) with gait time in the low activity group, but low correlations (r = 0.29–0.30) in the high activity group. In conclusion, the stipulated step test can evaluate the level of daily activity ability in the elderly at home and it is effective in evaluating their balance ability.