地域在住高齢者における多重課題条件下での歩行能力と転倒リスク調査との関連性  [in Japanese] Relationship between Fall Risk and Gait Ability under Multi-task Conditions in Community-dwelling Elderly  [in Japanese]

〔目的〕地域在住高齢者を対象に多重課題条件下での歩行能力と転倒リスクとの関係を明らかにすることとした．〔対象〕地域在住高齢者35名とした．〔方法〕過去1年間の転倒回数，転倒スコア，さらに10 mの自由歩行と多重課題条件下（バランス，聴覚，朗読または減算）での歩行を行い，時間・歩幅・歩数を測定し，自由歩行からの変化率を算出した．〔結果〕転倒スコアは聴覚課題下の歩幅，歩数と有意な相関を示した．転倒経験が複数回の者はない者に比して，聴覚課題下での歩幅の減少率が有意に大きかった．〔結語〕地域在住高齢者に対する転倒予測法として多重課題法は有用で課題としては，聴覚課題のようなやや複雑な課題が適している． <br>

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between fall risk and gait ability under multi-task conditions in community-dwelling elderly individuals. [Subjects] The subjects were 35 community-dwelling elderly individuals living in Ibaraki Prefecture. [Methods] Gait ability was measured during a 10-m walk under multi-task conditions (balance, auditory, reading, subtraction), and it was compared with the gait ability during normal walking. Subjects' characteristics including fall score were obtained by a self-report questionnaire. [Results] Changes in stride length and the number of steps in the auditory task showed a significant correlation with fall scores. Additionally, changes in stride length were significantly larger in the multi-fall group than in the no-fall group. [Conclusion] Our data suggest that determining gait ability under multi-task conditions might help identify subjects at a high risk of fall, and that tasks more complex than dual tasks are suitable for testing community-dwelling elderly individuals for fall risk. <br>