Seasonal association between spatiotemporal gait variables and falls among community-dwelling older adults living in snowy areas: a cross-sectional study

Purpose To examine whether kinematic gait variables are related to fall history during the winter and non-winter seasons in community-dwelling older adults living in snowy regions. Methods This cross-sectional study included 287 community-dwelling older adults (mean age, 77.6 ± 5.7 years; sex, 69.0% female) living in Hokkaido, Japan. The fall history in winter and non-winter seasons was assessed through face-to-face interviews. Spatiotemporal gait variables, including gait speed, cadence, stride length, stride length variability, double support time, and double support time variability, were measured using an electronic gait analysis system. Results The prevalence of falls was 19.5% (n = 56) during winter and 18.1% (n = 52) during non-winter months. Logistic regression analyses showed no significant associations between gait variables and a history of falls during winter. However, during non-winter months, a shorter stride length (odds ratio, 0.98; 95% confidence interval, 0.96–0.99; p  = 0.027) was significantly associated with a history of falls, even after controlling for age, sex, body mass index, living alone, polypharmacy, fear of falling, cognitive function, and depressive symptoms. Conclusion Spatiotemporal gait variables played a lesser role in identifying risk factors for fall history during winter compared to non-winter months in community-dwelling older adults living in snowy regions.