Development of a screening program to assess motor function in the adult population: a cross-sectional observational study

BACKGROUND Motor dysfunction is a major reason why the elderly lose their independence in their daily lives. The concept of locomotive syndrome has been proposed to describe the risk of mobility dependence caused by various locomotive organ disorders. The preservation of locomotive organs is now socially important in the middle-aged and geriatric population. Therefore, it is important to establish a screening program to evaluate motor function and related quality of life in a wide range of ages. METHODS We propose a new set of pre-existing scales (the Two-Step test, Stand-Up test, and 25-question Geriatric Locomotive Function Scale) as screening tools to identify the population at high risk for locomotive syndrome. We performed a preliminary survey on 777 subjects who had no apparent disorders related to motor function. We also examined the reliability of the Two-Step test and Stand-Up test. RESULTS We found that each scale did not show ceiling or floor effects in various age groups. Because the correlations between the three scales were significant but weak, we assume that each scale covers different aspects of mobility. The test-retest reliability was found to be satisfactory for the Two-Step test and the Stand-Up test. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that our "Short Test Battery for Locomotive syndrome" is a feasible and reliable tool for screening the adult population as a preventative strategy for locomotive syndrome in a super-aged society.