Assessing the Agreement Between 3-Meter and 6-Meter Walk Tests in 136 Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Objective: Walking speed is an important marker of functionality that is measured over courses of varying lengths, but it is unclear if course length affects measured pace. Method: A total of 136 older adults completed two consecutive trials each of 3-m and 6-m walking courses, the order of which was randomly assigned. We calculated concordance correlation coefficients (CCC) and created Bland-Altman plots to evaluate the relationship between the two course distances. Results: Average walking speed was faster for the 6-m course and the second trial of each course. There was high concordance between the first and second trials for both the 3-m and 6-m courses. Discussion: The 3- and 6-m courses had excellent test-retest reliability and faster walking speed in later than earlier trials. Higher concordance between courses for later trials suggests the utility of practice trials and adjusting for course length when combining walking speed measurements between different course lengths.