Dual-scale assessment of motor dysfunction in older adults with locomotor dysfunction and its association with gait and muscle activation.
- 1Department of Rehabilitation, Jiaxing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jiaxing, Zhejiang, China.
- 2School of Rehabilitation Medicine, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, China.
Abstract
Objective
This study examined the reliability and validity of a combined 25-question geriatric locomotive function scale (GLFS-25) and Locomotion Dysfunction Grade scale (LDG) classification protocol in older adults with locomotor dysfunction, and explored which objective gait and muscle activation parameters were most strongly associated with GLFS-25 scores.Methods
The GLFS-25 and LDG were used to assess 289 older adults with locomotor dysfunction, of whom 60 underwent gait analysis and surface electromyography (sEMG).Results
Reliability analysis yielded a Cronbach's α of 0.702 for the GLFS-25, indicating acceptable but modest internal consistency. Exploratory factor analysis extracted nine factors, accounting for 55.193% of the cumulative variance. Confirmatory factor analysis showed X²/df = 1.424, RMSEA = 0.038 (90% CI: 0.000-0.060), and SRMR = 0.055, indicating acceptable fit; however, CFI = 0.821, TLI = 0.801, and IFI = 0.830 were below 0.90, suggesting partial rather than strong construct validity. In exploratory ridge regression, the model showed an in-sample R² of 0.858, which should be interpreted with caution. Step length showed a positive association with the GLFS-25 score, while knee flexion during swing and the ratio of pressure onset time of the middle foot showed negative associations (P < 0.05). However, individual coefficients should be interpreted cautiously.Conclusion
The GLFS-25 demonstrated acceptable but modest reliability and partial construct validity in this population. In exploratory analyses, its scores showed a strong in-sample association with objective gait and sEMG measures. These findings are hypothesis-generating and require external validation in independent cohorts. Objective measures remain complementary to, rather than substitutes for, subjective assessment. Registration: ChiCTR2400087701.
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BibTeX
@article{liu2026dualscale,
title = {{Dual-scale assessment of motor dysfunction in older adults with locomotor dysfunction and its association with gait and muscle activation.}},
author = {Wen Liu and Chunxiao Lu and Lifeng Qian},
journal = {Frontiers in aging neuroscience},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fnagi.2026.1980454},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42898466},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Dual-scale assessment of motor dysfunction in older adults with locomotor dysfunction and its association with gait and muscle activation.
AU - Wen Liu
AU - Chunxiao Lu
AU - Lifeng Qian
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/05
JO - Frontiers in aging neuroscience
DO - 10.3389/fnagi.2026.1980454
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42898466
AB - Objective This study examined the reliability and validity of a combined 25-question geriatric locomotive function scale (GLFS-25) and Locomotion Dysfunction Grade scale (LDG) classification protocol in older adults with locomotor dysfunction, and explored which objective gait and muscle activation parameters were most strongly associated with GLFS-25 scores.Methods The GLFS-25 and LDG were used to assess 289 older adults with locomotor dysfunction, of whom 60 underwent gait analysis and surface electromyography (sEMG).Results Reliability analysis yielded a Cronbach's α of 0.702 for the GLFS-25, indicating acceptable but modest internal consistency. Exploratory factor analysis extracted nine factors, accounting for 55.193% of the cumulative variance. Confirmatory factor analysis showed X²/df = 1.424, RMSEA = 0.038 (90% CI: 0.000-0.060), and SRMR = 0.055, indicating acceptable fit; however, CFI = 0.821, TLI = 0.801, and IFI = 0.830 were below 0.90, suggesting partial rather than strong construct validity. In exploratory ridge regression, the model showed an in-sample R² of 0.858, which should be interpreted with caution. Step length showed a positive association with the GLFS-25 score, while knee flexion during swing and the ratio of pressure onset time of the middle foot showed negative associations (P < 0.05). However, individual coefficients should be interpreted cautiously.Conclusion The GLFS-25 demonstrated acceptable but modest reliability and partial construct validity in this population. In exploratory analyses, its scores showed a strong in-sample association with objective gait and sEMG measures. These findings are hypothesis-generating and require external validation in independent cohorts. Objective measures remain complementary to, rather than substitutes for, subjective assessment. Registration: ChiCTR2400087701.
SN - 1663-4365
ER -