The effect of telephone counselling on reducing post-traumatic symptoms after mild traumatic brain injury: a randomised trial.

BACKGROUND: Mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) is a significant public health problem affecting approximately 1 million people annually in the USA. A total of 10-15% of individuals are estimated to have persistent post-traumatic symptoms. This study aimed to determine whether focused, scheduled telephone counselling during the first 3 months after MTBI decreases symptoms and improves functioning at 6 months. METHODS: This was a two-group, parallel, randomised clinical trial with the outcome assessed by blinded examiner at 6 months after injury. 366 of 389 eligible subjects aged 16 years or older with MTBI were enrolled in the emergency department, with an 85% follow-up completion rate. Five telephone calls were completed, individualised for patient concerns and scripted to address education, reassurance and reactivation. Two composites were analysed, one relating to post-traumatic symptoms that developed or worsened after injury and their impact on functioning, the other related to general health status. RESULTS: The telephone counselling group had a significantly better outcome for symptoms (6.6 difference in adjusted mean symptom score, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2 to 12.0), but no difference in general health outcome (1.5 difference in adjusted mean functional score, 95% CI 2.2 to 5.2). A smaller proportion of the treatment group had each individual symptom (except anxiety) at assessment. Similarly, fewer of the treatment group had daily functioning negatively impacted by symptoms with the largest differences in work, leisure activities, memory and concentration and financial independence. CONCLUSIONS: Telephone counselling, focusing on symptom management, was successful in reducing chronic symptoms after MTBI. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ClinicalTrials.gov, #NCT00483444.

The WeeFIM [R] instrument--a paediatric measure of functional independence to predict longitudinal recovery of paediatric burn patients.

INTRODUCTION: Burns create a myriad of complications that affect the child's developmental, functional and aesthetic status. The WeeFIM is a standardized measure of functional performance developed for use in children 6-months to 8-years of age but with application through adolescence. It includes 18 domains of performance which are scored on a 7-point scale from 'total assistance' to 'complete independence'. In this study, the WeeFIM was used to evaluate the influence of burn size on functional independence and on time to recovery. METHODS: Children, 6 months to 16 years of age, with total body surface area (TBSA) bums of 10-100% burn injury were recruited for a 2-year longitudinal study. Due to unstable WeeFIM measurements on children 6 months to 6 years, analyses on normalized WeeFIM scores among subjects 6-16 years are presented. Children were evaluated at discharge from acute care, 6 months, 1 year and 2 years after burn injury. FINDINGS: In this analysis, 454 WeeFIM evaluations from 249 patients, 6-16 years of age, were reviewed. While mean WeeFIM scores varied significantly at discharge based on the size of burn, there were no significant differences in any of the WeeFIM scales at 24 months post-burn. At 24 months, the mean WeeFIM score for all children, independent of size of their bum, indicated full independence. Hands-on assistance was not required for performing activities of daily living (ADLs). The rates of improvement differed statistically by size of bum. Maximum improvement was attained by 6 months for 10-15% TBSA burns, 12 months for 16-30% burns, 12 months for 31-50% burns and 24 months for 51-100% TBSA. CONCLUSION: The WeeFIM can be utilized by burn centres to describe diminished functional capacity at discharge from acute care for severely burnt children. The tool can be used to track return to baseline independence after a major burn injury in a paediatric population.

Impairment after burns: a two-center, prospective report.

Impairment rating is regularly reported for trauma and other conditions but rarely for burns. The purposes of this study were: (1) to report impairment collected prospectively at our burn center, (2) to relate this impairment to measures of psychosocial and functional outcome, and (3) to compare these data to similar data from another burn center to verify that rating impairment is standardized and that the impairments are similar. We studied 139 patients from the University of Washington (UW) Burn Center and 100 patients from the University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Burn Center. The average whole person impairment (WPI) ratings at the University of Washington were 17% and this correlated with total body surface area burned and days off work. It did not correlate with Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), Functional Independence Measure (FIM), Short-Form 36-Item Health Survey (SF-36), Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), and the Community Integration Questionnaire (CIQ). Average whole person impairment ratings at UT Southwestern were similar at 19%. Several components of the impairment rating, however, differed at the two institutions. To minimize this variation, we recommend: (1) use the skin impairment definitions of the fifth edition of the Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (or the most recent published versions of the Guide), and (2) include sensory impairment in healed burns and skin grafts in the skin impairment.

Discharge disposition from acute care after traumatic brain injury: the effect of insurance type.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if persons with traumatic brain injury (TBI) who are insured by Medicaid or health maintenance organizations (HMOs) are more likely to receive postacute care in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) than in rehabilitation facilities, compared with persons insured by commercial fee-for-service (FFS) plans. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: County hospital admitting 30% of all Washington State TBI patients. PATIENTS: Patients with moderate to severe TBI discharged to rehabilitation facilities or SNFs between 1992 and 1997 (n = 1271); 56.3% were insured by Medicaid, 26.1% by FFS plans, and 17.6% by HMOs. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Disposition on discharge from acute care (rehabilitation facilities vs SNF); adjusted relative risk (RR) and confidence interval (CI) for different insurance types. RESULTS: After accounting for confounding factors, Medicaid patients were 68% more likely (RR = 1.68, 95% CI = 1.34-2.11) and HMO patients were 23% more likely (RR = 1.23, 95% CI =.90-1.68) to go to a SNF than FFS patients. However, the latter difference was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: An association exists between insurance type and postacute care site. Efforts should be made to determine the effect this relationship has on the cost and outcomes for TBI patients.

Community integration after burn injuries.

Evaluation of community integration is a meaningful outcome criterion after major burn injury. The Community Integration Questionnaire (CIQ) was administered to 463 individuals with major burn injuries. The CIQ results in Total, Home Integration, Social Integration, and Productivity scores. The purposes of this study were to determine change in CIQ scores over time and what burn injury and demographic factors predict CIQ scores. The CIQ scores did not change significantly from 6 to 12 to 24 months postburn injury. Home integration scores were best predicted by sex and living situation; Social Integration scores by marital status; and Productivity scores by functional outcome, burn severity, age, and preburn work factors. The data demonstrate that individuals with burn injuries have significant difficulties with community integration due to burn and nonburn related factors. CIQ scores did not improve over time but improvement may have occurred before the initial 6-month postburn injury follow-up in this study.

Large energetic adaptations of elderly muscle to resistance and endurance training.

This study determined the cellular energetic and structural adaptations of elderly muscle to exercise training. Forty male and female subjects (69.2 +/- 0.6 yr) were assigned to a control group or 6 mo of endurance (ET) or resistance training (RT). We used magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging to characterize energetic properties and size of the quadriceps femoris muscle. The phosphocreatine and pH changes during exercise yielded the muscle oxidative properties, glycolytic ATP synthesis, and contractile ATP demand. Muscle biopsies taken from the same site as the magnetic resonance measurements were used to determine myosin heavy chain isoforms, metabolite concentrations, and mitochondrial volume densities. The ET group showed changes in all energetic pathways: oxidative capacity (+31%), contractile ATP demand (-21%), and glycolytic ATP supply (-56%). The RT group had a large increase in oxidative capacity (57%). Only the RT group exhibited change in structural properties: a rise in mitochondrial volume density (31%) and muscle size (10%). These results demonstrate large energetic, but smaller structural, adaptations by elderly muscle with exercise training. The rise in oxidative properties with both ET and RT suggests that the aerobic pathway is particularly sensitive to exercise training in elderly muscle. Thus elderly muscle remains adaptable to chronic exercise, with large energetic changes accompanying both ET and RT.

Time off work and return to work rates after burns: systematic review of the literature and a large two-center series.

The literature on time off work and return to work after burns is incomplete. This study addresses this and includes a systematic literature review and two-center series. The literature was searched from 1966 through October 2000. Two-center data were collected on 363 adults employed outside of the home at injury. Data on employment, general demographics, and burn demographics were collected. The literature search found only 10 manuscripts with objective data, with a mean time off work of 10 weeks and %TBSA as the most important predictor of time off work. The mean time off work for those who returned to work by 24 months was 17 weeks and correlated with %TBSA. The probability of returning to work was reduced by a psychiatric history and extremity burns and was inversely related to %TBSA. In the two-center study, 66% and 90% of survivors had returned to work at 6 and 24 months post-burn. However, in the University of Washington subset of the data, only 37% had returned to the same job with the same employer without accommodations at 24 months, indicating that job disruption is considerable. The impact of burns on work is significant.

Dexter: a tool to facilitate impairment ratings.

Calculating impairment in burn patients is crucial to understanding outcome. However, it is rarely reported after burns, presumably because the process of calculating impairment ratings is complicated and tedious. Computerized systems have been developed that facilitate the process, but it has not been established in burn patients that these systems reduce the time required to calculate impairment. We evaluated the Dexter Evaluation and Therapy System by Cedaron Medical Inc (Davis, CA). A sample of 10 manually recorded ratings was compared with 10 performed on the Dexter. Mean time for the manual technique was 65 +/- 35 minutes versus 37 +/- 13 minutes for the Dexter (P < .05, Mann-Whitney). The time taken to perform impairment ratings in burn survivors is significantly reduced by the use of the Dexter system. Time saving occurs primarily at three points: (1) electronic data entry directly from the measuring instruments, (2) compilation of data, and (3) rapid generation of reports.

Oxidative capacity and ageing in human muscle.

This study determined the decline in oxidative capacity per volume of human vastus lateralis muscle between nine adult (mean age 38.8 years) and 40 elderly (mean age 68.8 years) human subjects (age range 25-80 years). We based our oxidative capacity estimates on the kinetics of changes in creatine phosphate content ([PCr]) during recovery from exercise as measured by (31)P magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy. A matched muscle biopsy sample permitted determination of mitochondrial volume density and the contribution of the loss of mitochondrial content to the decline in oxidative capacity with age. The maximal oxidative phosphorylation rate or oxidative capacity was estimated from the PCr recovery rate constant (k(PCr)) and the [PCr] in accordance with a simple electrical circuit model of mitochondrial respiratory control. Oxidative capacity was 50 % lower in the elderly vs. the adult group (0.61 +/- 0.04 vs. 1.16 +/- 0.147 mM ATP s(-1)). Mitochondrial volume density was significantly lower in elderly compared with adult muscle (2.9 +/- 0.15 vs. 3.6 +/- 0.11 %). In addition, the oxidative capacity per mitochondrial volume (0.22 +/- 0.042 vs. 0.32 +/- 0.015 mM ATP (s %)(-1)) was reduced in elderly vs. adult subjects. This study showed that elderly subjects had nearly 50 % lower oxidative capacity per volume of muscle than adult subjects. The cellular basis of this drop was a reduction in mitochondrial content, as well as a lower oxidative capacity of the mitochondria with age.

Ageing, muscle properties and maximal O(2) uptake rate in humans.

This paper asks how the decline in maximal O(2) uptake rate (VO(2),max) with age is related to the properties of a key muscle group involved in physical activity - the quadriceps muscles. Maximal oxygen consumption on a cycle ergometer was examined in nine adult (mean age 38.8 years) and 39 elderly subjects (mean age 68.8 years) and compared with the oxidative capacity and volume of the quadriceps. VO(2),max declined with age between 25 and 80 years and the increment in oxygen consumption from unloaded cycling to VO(2),max (delta VO(2)) in the elderly was 45 % of the adult value. The cross-sectional areas of the primary muscles involved in cycling - the hamstrings, gluteus maximus and quadriceps - were all lower in the elderly group. The quadriceps volume was reduced in the elderly to 67 % of the adult value. Oxidative capacity per quadriceps volume was reduced to 53 % of the adult value. The product of oxidative capacity and muscle volume - the quadriceps oxidative capacity - was 36 % of the adult value in the elderly. Quadriceps oxidative capacity was linearly correlated with delta VO(2) among the subjects with the slope indicating that the quadriceps represented 36 % of the VO(2) increase during cycling. The decline in quadriceps oxidative capacity with age resulted from reductions in both muscle volume and oxidative capacity per volume in the elderly and appears to be an important determinant of the age-related reduction in delta VO(2) and VO(2),max found in this study.

Continuous passive motion for osteoarthritis of the hip: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether extended use of continuous passive motion (CPM) may allay the pain of walking, diminish disease effect, and increase the usual walking speed in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip. METHODS: This pilot study comprised 21 patients with Kellgren-Lawrence grade 2-4 OA of the hip who used CPM for periods of 1.2 to 7.6 h daily throughout a 12 week trial. RESULTS: Significant improvements were found in the patients' assessment of pain on visual analog scale, Sickness Impact Profile, self-selected walking speed, and the number of subjects who decreased their medication usage. None of these improvements was related to the radiographic grade of the patients' OA or the daily duration of CPM. CONCLUSION: Although regular exercise is now routinely recommended to patients with OA, there has been relatively little study of specific exercise programs. As such investigations are undertaken, we believe CPM should be included among the options that are studied.

Exercise: effects on physical functional performance in independent older adults.

BACKGROUND: Age-related loss in physiologic capacities contributes to the decline in physical function in the elderly population. Despite the beneficial effects of exercise interventions on maximal physiologic capacity measures, the functional benefits have not been shown in independently living older adults. The objective of this study was to evaluate exercise in independent older adults for significant and meaningful improvements in physical function, not detected by commonly used measures of physical function. METHODS: In a randomized controlled study, 49 independently living men and women were assigned to either a nonexercise control group (Control; n = 26) or an exercise training group (Exercise; n = 23). Participants (age = 76+/-4) in good general health were recruited from retirement communities or apartments. The combined endurance and strength training was performed at 75% to 80% intensity; the groups met 3 times/week for 6 months of supervised sessions. Outcome measures included physical capacity, health status, and physical function using a newly developed performance test--the Continuous Scale-Physical Functional Performance test (CS-PFP). RESULTS: Compared to the Control group, the Exercise group showed significant increases in maximal oxygen consumption (11%) and muscle strength (33%). No significant differences were found between groups for changes in the Sickness Impact Profile, SF-36 scales, or the 6-minute walk. However, the CS-PFP score improved significantly in the Exercise group (14%, effect size 0.80). CONCLUSIONS: Independent older adults gain meaningful functional benefits from several months of exercise training. The public health importance of physical activity may relate not just to its role in preventing decline, but also to its role in enhancing physical function.

Results of 268 pressure sores in 158 patients managed jointly by plastic surgery and rehabilitation medicine.

Despite improvements in surgical repair of pressure sores, recurrence rates greater than 80 percent are reported, thus indicating that this difficult problem is not yet solved. Recurrence results in additional hospitalizations and increased medical expenses. Because associated general clinical and social issues are numerous for these patients, our physical medicine and rehabilitation colleagues are active participants in their perioperative medical care. In addition, the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation also directs a complete postreconstruction rehabilitation and education program for them. The results of surgically repaired pressure sores for patients managed in this collaborative fashion have not been previously reported. Pressure sore patients at the Harborview and University of Washington Medical Centers are evaluated by plastic surgery colleagues together with the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Patients believed to be candidates for complete postoperative rehabilitation are offered surgical repair and constitute this study cohort. Individuals who cannot cooperate with our protocol are treated nonoperatively and are not included in this study. A retrospective analysis of all 158 patients (mean age 34.5 years) operated on for 268 grade III and IV pressure sores between October of 1977 and December of 1989 was performed. Following surgical debridement and reconstruction, patients receive their principal medical care from the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation service while the Plastic Surgery Department manages the surgical wounds. Graduated patient mobilization is initiated in accord with a mutually agreed upon standardized protocol. New or primary sores numbered 174 (65 percent), and recurrent or secondary sores numbered 94 (35 percent). Mean patient follow-up was 3.7 years. The overall pressure sore recurrence rate (recurrence at the same site) was 19 percent, and the overall patient recurrence rate (previous patient developing a new sore) was 25 percent. Recurrence rates of 22 and 15 percent were noted for primary and secondary pressure sores, respectively. On most recent examination, 131 patients (83 percent) had intact pelvic and perineal skin. These results support a collaborative approach to the management of high-grade pressure sore patients. Our protocol of mutual patient evaluation followed by surgical reconstruction and postoperative rehabilitation yields notably low recurrence rates of both primary and secondary sores. In addition, the high percentage of patients who manifest long-term maintenance of skin integrity demonstrates the excellent education in personal skin and self-care that this approach provides. Not only do patients enjoy successful and durable reconstructive results, but additional hospitalizations and health care expenses implicit to pressure sore recurrence are consequently diminished. This collaborative clinical effort remains our standard of care.

The effect of Medicare's payment system for rehabilitation hospitals on length of stay, charges, and total payments.

BACKGROUND: Medicare's system for the payment of rehabilitation hospitals is based on limits derived from a hospital's average allowable charges per patient discharged during a base year. Thereafter, payments are capped but hospitals receive incentive payments if charges per patient are reduced in succeeding years. We hypothesized that per-patient charges would increase during the base year and then decrease in subsequent years. Hospitals would thus have higher reimbursement limits and receive incentive payments for reducing their charges. METHODS: We analyzed Medicare claims data for 190,921 discharges from 69 rehabilitation hospitals from 1987 through 1994. We compared total charges, length of stay, and interim payments before, during, and after each hospital's base year. RESULTS: After we controlled for inflation and temporal and seasonal trends, mean charges per patient discharged increased from $25,131 for patients discharged before the base year to $32,167 for patients discharged in the base year (a 28 percent increase, P<0.001) and the mean length of stay increased from 22.1 to 26.7 days (a 21 percent increase, P<0.001). After the base year, mean charges decreased to $29,307 (a 9 percent decrease) and the mean length of stay decreased to 24.0 days (a 10 percent decrease) (P<0.001 for both comparisons). Analysis of data on patients according to diagnosis -- for example, spinal cord injury, brain injury, stroke, amputations and deformities, hip fracture, and arthritis and joint disorders -- showed similar findings for each, with increases in charges and length of stay in the base year, followed by smaller reductions thereafter. For-profit hospitals had greater increases than nonprofit hospitals in their per-patient charges (mean increase, $7,434 vs. $2,929; P<0.001) and length of stay (mean increase, 4.6 vs. 2.3 days, P<0.001) during the base year. CONCLUSIONS: Although Medicare's reimbursement system for rehabilitation hospitals put an upper limit on total payments, its design was associated with substantial extra costs, including significantly increased payments to hospitals and doctors and increased numbers of hospital days for the average patient.

Decline in isokinetic force with age: muscle cross-sectional area and specific force.

Humans produce less muscle force (F) as they age. However, the relationship between decreased force and muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) in older humans is not well documented. We examined changes in F and CSA to determine the relative contributions of muscle atrophy and specific force (F/CSA) to declining force production in aging humans. The proportions of myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoforms were characterized to assess whether this was related to changes in specific force with age. We measured the peak force of isokinetic knee extension in 57 males and females aged 23-80 years, and used magnetic resonance imaging to determine the contractile area of the quadriceps muscle. Analysis of MHC isoforms taken from biopsies of the vastus lateralis muscle showed no relation to specific force. F, CSA, and F/CSA decreased with age. Smaller CSA accounted for only about half of the 39% drop in force that occurred between ages 65-80 years. Specific force dropped about 1.5% per year in this age range, for a total decrease of 21%. Thus, quantitative changes in muscle (atrophy) are not sufficient to explain the strength loss associated with aging.

The effect of strength and endurance training on gait, balance, fall risk, and health services use in community-living older adults.

BACKGROUND: The study tested the effect of strength and endurance training on gait, balance, physical health status, fall risk, and health services use in older adults. METHODS: The study was a single-blinded, randomized controlled trial with intention-to-treat analysis. Adults (n = 105) age 68-85 with at least mild deficits in strength and balance were selected from a random sample of enrollees in a health maintenance organization. The intervention was supervised exercise (1-h sessions, three per week, for 24-26 weeks), followed by self-supervised exercise. Exercise groups included strength training using weight machines (n = 25), endurance training using bicycles (n = 25), and strength and endurance training (n = 25). Study outcomes included gait tests, balance tests, physical health status measures, self-reported falls (up to 25 months of follow-up), and inpatient and outpatient use and costs. RESULTS: There were no effects of exercise on gait, balance, or physical health status. Exercise had a protective effect on risk of falling (relative hazard = .53, 95% CI = .30-.91). Between 7 and 18 months after randomization, control subjects had more outpatient clinic visits (p < .06) and were more likely to sustain hospital costs over $5000 (p < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Exercise may have beneficial effects on fall rates and health care use in some subgroups of older adults. In community-living adults with mainly mild impairments in gait, balance, and physical health status, short-term exercise may not have a restorative effect on these impairments.

A comparison of the effects of three types of endurance training on balance and other fall risk factors in older adults.

We hypothesized that short-term endurance training improves balance in older adults, if training involves movements that "stress" balance. We tested the hypothesis by looking for a dose-response relationship between movement during exercise and balance improvement. The study was a single-blinded, randomized controlled trial. Subjects were sedentary adults (N = 106) aged 68-85 with at least mild deficits in balance. Exercise groups were: stationary cycle (low movement), walking (medium movement), and aerobic movement (high movement). Subjects attended supervised exercise classes three times a week for three months, followed by self-directed exercise of any type for three months. The primary test of the hypothesis compared changes in balance after three months of supervised exercise. One balance measure (distance walked on a six-meter narrow balance beam) improved in the hypothesized dose-response manner (cycle, 3% improvement; walking, 7% improvement; aerobic movement, 18% improvement: p < 0.02, test of trend). Other balance measures did not improve with exercise. Only walking exercise improved gait speed (by 5%, p < 0.02) and SF-36 role-physical score (by 24%, p < 0.05). VO2max improved with walking (18%, p < 0.004) and aerobic movement (10%, p < 0.01), but improved less with cycling (8%, p > 0.1). Leg strength improved significantly in all exercise groups. The study hypothesis was supported only for one balance measure. Only walking improved at least one measure of all major outcomes (endurance, strength, gait, balance, and health status), suggesting that walking is most useful for all prevention. Cycle exercise appeared least useful.

Continuous-scale physical functional performance in healthy older adults: a validation study.

OBJECTIVE: The continuous-scale physical functional performance test (CS-PFP) is an original instrument designed to provide a comprehensive, in-depth measure of physical function that reflects abilities in several separate physical domains. It is based on a concept of physical function as the integration of physiological capacity, physical performance, and psychosocial factors. SETTING: The test was administered under standard conditions in a hospital facility with a neighborhood setting. The CS-PFP consists of a battery of 15 everyday tasks, ranging from easy to demanding, that sample the physical domains of upper and lower body strength, upper body flexibility, balance and coordination, and endurance. Participants are told to work safely but at maximal effort, and physical functional performance was measured as weight, time, or distance. Scores were standardized and scaled 0 to 12. The test yields a total score and separate physical domain scores. DESIGN: The CS-PFP was evaluated using 148 older adults-78 community dwellers, 31 long-term care facility residents living independently, and 39 residents with some dependence. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Maximal physical performance assessment included measures of maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max), isokinetic strength, range of motion, gait, and balance. Psychosocial factors were measured as self-defined health status using the Sickness Impact Profile (SIP), self-perceived function using the Health Survey (SF36), and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL). RESULTS: IADL scores were not significantly different among the groups. Test-retest correlations ranged from .84 to .97 and inter-rater reliability from .92 to .99 for the CS-PFP total and 5 domains. Internal consistency was high (Cronbach's alpha, .74 to .97). Both total and individual domain CS-PFP scores were significantly different for the three groups of study participants, increasing with higher levels of independence, supporting construct validity. CS-PFP domain scores were significantly correlated with measures of maximal physical performance (VO2max, strength, etc) and with physical but not emotional aspects of self-perceived function. CONCLUSION: The CS-PFP is a valid, reliable measure of physical function, applicable to a wide range of functional levels, and having minimal floor and ceiling effect. The total and physical domains may be used to evaluate, discriminate, and predict physical functional performance for both research and clinical purposes.

Factors associated with changes in gait speed in older adults.

BACKGROUND: The study addressed whether changes in gait speed in community-dwelling older adults were associated with changes in fitness (strength and aerobic capacity), physical health status, and/or depressive symptoms. METHODS: The study sample comprised 152 community-dwelling adults aged 68-85 who had participated in an exercise study. Study measures at baseline and 6-month follow-up included gait speed, a leg strength score, maximal aerobic capacity (VO2max), CES-Depression scale, and physical health status (SIP Physical Dimension). RESULTS: In cross-sectional regression analyses, leg strength, VO2max, weight, and the strength by VO2max interaction term were significant independent predictors of gait speed (R2 = 26%). Based upon the observed 7% increase in VO2max and 8% increase in strength in the exercise groups, the regression model predicted only a 2% (1.5 m/min) increase in gait speed, which did not differ significantly from the observed increase of 0% (.32 m/min). The strongest correlate of change in gait speed was change in CES-D scores (partial R = -.37). Change in physical health status also correlated with change in gait speed (partial R = -.28), while change in fitness did not. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest, in the range of fitness of the study sample, that changes in gait speed are related to changes in depressive symptoms and physical health status, but not to modest changes in fitness. A model assuming nonlinear relationships may be appropriate for understanding how strength and aerobic capacity affect gait speed.