Background and Purpose: With the increasing number of older adults with disabilities, day care centers play a crucial role in providing care. In these settings, simple and time-efficient tests are essential for evaluating physical function, given limited staff time and equipment. The modified Single-Leg Stance (mSLS) and Five Times Sit-to-Stand (5TSTS) tests are practical balance and strength assessments that can be easily implemented by physical therapists and care staff. This study examines the relationship between the mSLS and 5TSTS tests and gait speed (GS) among older adults in day care centers and aims to identify performance thresholds for mSLS and 5TSTS that reflect the minimum levels necessary for maintaining GS for community ambulation. Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 114 older adults from 10 day care centers, and data from 98 participants who completed all tests were analyzed. All participants were independent indoor ambulators without physical assistance or assistive devices; 80 had cognitive impairments and 18 did not. Assessments involved the mSLS, 5TSTS, and GS tests. Two GS levels were categorized as <0.8 m/s (“limited community ambulators”) and 0.8 m/s or greater (“community ambulators”). Pearson and Spearman correlations and logistic regression were used to analyze relationships and associations with GS groups. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was conducted to determine cutoff values and evaluate the discriminative ability of the mSLS and 5TSTS for discriminating GS groups. Results and Discussion: A medium correlation was observed between longer mSLS durations and faster GS ( r s = 0.40, P < .001), and a large correlation for shorter 5TSTS with faster GS ( r s = −0.72, P < .001). Logistic regression showed that shorter mSLS and longer 5TSTS durations were associated with “limited community ambulators” (mSLS odds ration OR =0.67; 5TSTS OR =1.16). The mSLS and 5TSTS tests demonstrated low and moderate abilities to differentiate between the 2 GS groups, with area under the curve values of 0.67 and 0.88, respectively. For identifying GS <0.8 m/s, the threshold durations were 1.83 seconds for mSLS and 18.25 seconds for 5TSTS. While both have adequate specificity (mSLS = 0.89; 5TSTS = 0.84) and are likely to correctly identify community ambulators, the sensitivity (0.43) is low for the mSLS. In contrast, the 5TSTS with higher sensitivity (0.78) demonstrates superior performance in identifying limited community ambulators. Conclusions: The mSLS and 5TSTS tests are clinically useful for identifying older adults in day care centers with a reduced GS of <0.8 m/s. These findings suggest that when direct GS assessment is not feasible, the mSLS and 5TSTS can serve as practical tools for distinguishing older adults with different GS levels.
Liaw et al. (Thu,) studied this question.