Assessment of selected variables of functional capacity in three-generational family households

Introduction
Individual functional capacity drops with advancing age, whereas individual gait speed, coded by approx. 69 genes, is one of the widely acknowledged markers of regular fitness.

Aim of the research
The study aimed to assess selected variables of functional capacity in multi-generational families, principally balance and gait speed, whilst probing the intergenerational ties relative to the progression of the aging process, as expressed through the differences in gait speed between the 1st and the 3rd generation.

Material and methods
The study protocol covered 40 individuals originating from 3 generations within the same family households. Individual gait was assessed through a 5-metre gait speed test, along with other tests aimed at assessing individual balance and complex information processing capacity.

Results
A strong, negative correlation was encountered in the gait speed scores between the 1st and the 2nd generation of the same family (respectively, r = –0.81 and p = 0.014). This discrepancy proved the highest between the 1st and the 3rd generation. It also correlated significantly and positively with the actual scope of dual-task motor-cognitive activities.

Conclusions
Progression of the ageing process, expressed as individual gait speed score, was strongly, negatively correlated between respective generations within the same family. The motor variable value rising in the 1st generation translated into an increase in the difference between gait speed in the 1st and the 3rd generation. Gait speed between the 1st and the 3rd generation was dependent on the actual scope of dual-task activities assigned to its respective members.