Four-Meter Gait Speed: Normative Values and Reliability Determined for Adults Participating in the NIH Toolbox Study
Open accessAbstract
Objectives To establish reference values and determine test-retest reliability for usual and maximal 4-meter gait speed. Design Cross-sectional observational study. Setting Offices in 10 geographically dispersed cities in the United States. Participants Men and women (N=1320), aged 18 to 85 years, enrolled in the National Institutes of Health Toolbox norming study. Intervention Not applicable. Main outcome measures Specifically used were data from men and women who were timed over 4 meters (after a static start) while walking at their usual and maximum speeds. Norms for usual and maximum gait speed were derived using data from 1320 participants. Test-retest reliability for 164 participants was described using paired t tests, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), and minimal detectable changes (MDCs). Results Mean usual speed was 1.12 meters per second, whereas mean maximum speed was 1.61 meters per second. As a general linear model showed 4-meter gait speed to differ significantly according to gait condition (speed), sex, and age group; estimates of normal were calculated accordingly. The usual speed of 80- to 85-year-old women was lowest at 0.95 meters per second; the maximum speed of 18- to 29-year-old men was highest at 1.85 meters per second. Test-retest measures did not differ significantly, but the ICCs were only fair and the MDCs were high. Conclusions Normative reference values provided herein may be helpful in interpreting measurements of 4-meter gait speed obtained from adult men and women. The limited reliability of the gait speed measurements, however, limits their usefulness in making judgments regarding change.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The four-meter gait speed test has established protocols and normative values for adults.
“A common variant of this measure is the four-meter gait speed test, which has established protocols and normative values for adults [129].”
From The Seven Methods for the Evaluation of Nutritional Status—ABCDEFG: Narrative Review (2026) · cites this paper as [129]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Improvement in usual gait speed predicts better survival in older adults
Hardy, S. E., Perera, S., Roumani, Y. F., Chandler, J. M., & Studenski, S. A. (2007) · Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2007.01413.x · Cited by 628 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 19
- [1]Braden HJ, Hilgenberg S, Bohannon RW, Ko MS, Hasson S. Gait speed is limited but improves over the course of acute care physical therapy. J Geriatr Phys Ther 2012; 35: 140– 144. 22415359
- [2]Barthuly AM, Bohannon RW, Gorack W. Gait speed is a responsive measure of physical performance for patients undergoing short-term rehabilitation. Gait Posture 2012; 36: 61– 64. 22406292
- [3]Bohannon RW. Measurement of gait speed of older adults is feasible and informative in a home-care setting. J Geriatr Phys Ther 2009; 32: 22– 23. 19856632
- [4]Karpman C, LeBrasseur NK, DePew ZS, Novotny PJ, Benzo RP. Measuring gait speed in the out-patient clinic: methodology and feasibility. Respirat Care 2014; 59: 531– 537. 23983271
- [6]Middleton A, Fritz SL, Lusardi M. Walking speed: The functional vital sign. J Aging Phys Act 2015; 23: 314– 322. 24812254 PMC4254896
- [7]Graham JE, Ostir GV, Fisher SR, Ottenbacher KJ. Assessing walking speed in clinical research: a systematic review. J Eval Clin Pract2008; 14: 552– 562. PMC2628962 18462283
- [8]Tee ML, Tee CA, Montemayor EB. Determination of normative reference for the definition of sarcopenia among Filipinos. Osteoporo Sarcopenia 2016; 2: 186– 190. PMC6372749 30775486
- [9]Unver B, Baris RH, Yuksel E, Cekmece S, Kalkan S, Karatosun V. Reliability of 4-meter and 10-meter walk tests after lower extremity surgery. Disabil Rehabil 2017; 39: 2572– 2576. 27728985
- [12]Salbach NM, O’Brien KK, Brooks D, Reference values for standardized tests of walking speed and distance: A systematic review. Gait Posture 2015; 41: 341– 360 25542397
- [13]Beaumont JL, Havlik R, Cook KF, Norming plans for the NIH Toolbox. Neurology 2013; 80: S87– 92. 23479550 PMC3662345
- [15]Stratford PW. Getting more from the literature: estimating the standard error of measurement from reliability studies. Physiother Can 2004; 56: 27– 30.
- [16]Fleis JL. Design and Analysis of Clinical Experiments. New York, John Wiley & Sons, p 7.
- [17]Bohannon RW, Andrews AW. Normal walking speed: a descriptive meta-analysis. Physiotherapy 2011; 97: 182– 189. 21820535
- [18]Sustakoski A, Perera S, VanSwearingen JM, Studenski SA, Brach JS. The impact of testing protocol on recorded gait speed. Gait Posture 2015; 41: 329– 331. 25468684 PMC4271538
- [19]Maggio M, Ceda GP, Ticinesi A, Instrumental and non-instrumental evaluation of 4meter walking speed in older individuals. PLoS ONE 2016; 11(4) e0153583. 27077744 PMC4831727
- [20]Kim H-J, Park I, Lee HJ, Lee O. The reliability of gait speed with different walking pace and distances against general health, function, and chronic disease in aged adults. J Exerc Nutr Biochem 2016; 20: 046– 050. PMC5067420 27757387
- [21]Goldberg A, Schepens S. Measurement error and minimum detectable change in 4-meter gait speed in older adults. Aging Clin Exp Res 2011; 23: 406– 412 22526072
- [22]Reuben DB, Magasi S, McCreath HE, Motor assessment using the NIH Toolbox. Neurology 2013; 80(Suppl 3): S65– S75. 23479547 PMC3662336
- [23]Kon SSC, Patel MS, Canavan JL, Reliability and validity of 4-metre gait speed in COPD. Eur Resp J 2013; 42: 333– 340. 23222875
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Komforti, D., Joffe, C., Magras, A., Peller, A., Garbe, E., Garib, R., Trapuzzano, A., Dawson, N., & Stock, M. S. (2021) · Aging Clinical and Experimental Research · doi:10.1007/s40520-020-01596-y · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Tyner, C. E., Kisala, P. A., Heinemann, A. W., Fyffe, D., Tate, D. G., Slavin, M. D., Jette, A. M., & Tulsky, D. S. (2022) · Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation · doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2020.12.009 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
The Seven Methods for the Evaluation of Nutritional Status—ABCDEFG: Narrative Review
Zambrano-Villacres, R., Arteaga-Pazmiño, C., Guevara Castillo, W. D., Herrera-Fontana, M. E., Domínguez Brito, L. D., Becerra Granados, L. M., Recoba-Obregón, P. E., Rodríguez-Veintimilla, D., Bressi, V., Andrade-Molina, D., et al. (2026) · Applied Sciences · doi:10.3390/app16020845 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Itani, L., Pellegrini, M., Saadeddine, D., Samouda, H., Kreidieh, D., Tannir, H., & El Ghoch, M. (2024) · Diseases · doi:10.3390/diseases12030054 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
- Authors
- Bohannon, R. W., & Wang, Y.-C.
- Affiliations
- Campbell University (US)
- University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (US)
- Corresponding author
- Bohannon, Richard W.
- Venue
- Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2019-03
- Volume
- 100
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 509-513
- ISSN
- 0003-9993 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6363908
- OpenAlex
- W2886553700
- Cited by
- 212
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 31 · 2025: 25 · 2024: 39 · 2023: 38 · 2022: 36 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 5
- FWCI
- 25.14
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- Neuroscience Research
- Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research
- National Institutes of Health (HHS-N-260-2006-00007-C)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation › Balance, Gait, and Falls Prevention
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Geriatrics and Gerontology › Frailty in Older Adults
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
- Keywords
- walking speed, reference values, test-retest reliability, NIH Toolbox, maximal walking speed, minimal detectable change, aging, sex differences, age differences, adults
- MeSH terms
- Walk Test, Walking Speed, Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Health, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Reference Values, United States, Reproducibility of Results, Statistics, Nonparametric, Young Adult, Limit of Detection, Healthy Volunteers
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
