Age-Related Differences Across Adulthood in IMU-Derived Gait Quality During Habitual Walking

Abstract

Highlights What are the main findings? Step symmetry and stability during habitual walking declined with age. Gait quality was more strongly associated with age than with physical activity. Hip muscle strength showed selective relationships with gait quality beyond ageing effects. What are the implications of the main findings? Single lower-back IMU analysis during habitual walking captures subtle ageing-related gait quality changes. Hip muscle strength may contribute further to specific gait quality characteristics.Highlights What are the main findings? Step symmetry and stability during habitual walking declined with age. Gait quality was more strongly associated with age than with physical activity. Hip muscle strength showed selective relationships with gait quality beyond ageing effects. What are the implications of the main findings? Single lower-back IMU analysis during habitual walking captures subtle ageing-related gait quality changes. Hip muscle strength may contribute further to specific gait quality characteristics.Abstract Age-related changes in walking are often evaluated using performance-based measures, but little is known about how trunk-derived gait quality changes across healthy adulthood during habitual walking. This study examined gait quality using a single inertial measurement unit positioned at the lower back to record acceleration and angular velocity signals during approximately 5 min of continuous self-selected overground habitual walking in healthy adults across multiple age groups spanning adulthood. Step and stride symmetry were derived from trunk acceleration autocorrelation, local dynamic stability was quantified using the maximum Lyapunov exponent, and smoothness was derived from trunk angular velocity. Associations with age were evaluated, and additional analyses examined whether hip muscle strength and physical activity contributed to inter-individual variation in these gait measures. Age was associated with lower step symmetry and reduced local dynamic stability, whereas smoothness showed more limited age-related changes. Hip extensor and internal rotator strength explained additional variance in specific gait quality measures, while physical activity showed limited associations. These findings indicate that a single lower-back IMU can detect subtle age-related differences in interpretable gait quality during habitual walking across adulthood.