Concurrent validity of abbreviated walk tests among adults with mild to moderate intellectual disability

Background
Walk tests are common gait speed and endurance assessments. Shorter test versions could benefit adults with intellectual disability. Thus, the concurrent validity of shorter tests was studied.

Methods
Thirty-five adults with mild to moderate intellectual disability, aged 21–64 years, were assessed with the 4-m walk test, 10-m walk test for gait speed, 2-min walk test, and 6-min walk test for endurance. Correlation and Bland–Altman plots analyses were used to establish concurrent validity between shorter and standard tests.

Results
Strong positive relationships were found for gait speed tests, r = 0.94, p < 0.001, and endurance tests, r = 0.83, p < 0.001, and differences between shorter and standard tests were within limits of agreement.

Conclusions
The concurrent validity of shorter walk tests was established in this study. This would mean that adults with intellectual disability with lower levels of fitness could be assessed.