Ci a ion: La o e-Román, P.Á.;
Pá aga-Mon illa, J.A.;
Robles-Fuen es, A.; Roche-Se uendo,
L.E.; Lucena-Zu i a, M.;
Muñoz-Jiménez, M.; Manjón-Pozas,
D.; Salas-Sánchez, J.; da Conceição,
F.A.; Consueg a González, P.J.
Re e ence Values o Spa ial and
Tempo al Gai Pa ame e s in a
Con empo a y Sample o Spanish
P eschool Child en: A
C oss-Sec ional S udy. Child en 2022,
9, 1150. h ps://doi.o g/10.3390/
child en9081150
Academic Edi o : E ich Ru z
Recei ed: 24 June 2022
Accep ed: 26 July 2022
Published: 30 July 2022
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child en
A icle
Re e ence Values o Spa ial and Tempo al Gai Pa ame e s in a
Con empo a y Sample o Spanish P eschool Child en: A
C oss-Sec ional S udy
Ped o Ángel La o e-Román1, Juan An onio Pá aga-Mon illa 1,*, Alejand o Robles-Fuen es 2,
Luis En ique Roche-Se uendo 3, Manuel Lucena-Zu i a 4, Ma cos Muñoz-Jiménez 5, Daniel Manjón-Pozas 4,
Jesús Salas-Sánchez 6, Filipe Almeida da Conceição7and Ped o JoséConsueg a González 1
1Depa men o Didac ic o Music, Plas ic and Body Exp ession, Uni e si y o Jaén, 23071 Jaen, Spain;
[email p o ec ed] (P.Á.L.-R.); [email p o ec ed] (P.J.C.G.)
2Ayun amien o de San iago Pon ones, 23091 Jaen, Spain; [email p o ec ed]
3Facul y o Heal h Sciences, Campus Uni e si a io, Uni e sidad San Jo ge, 50830 Za agoza, Spain;
[email p o ec ed]
4Depa men o Didac ic o Music, Plas ic and Body Exp ession, Uni e si y o Sag ada Familia de Úbeda,
Úbeda, 23400 Jaen, Spain; [email p o ec ed] (M.L.-Z.); [email p o ec ed] (D.M.-P.)
5Ayun amien o de Jaén, 23071 Jaen, Spain; [email p o ec ed]
6Uni e sidad Au ónoma de Chile, San iago 7500912, Chile; [email p o ec ed]
74 LABIOMEP-Po o Biomechanics Labo a o y, Cen e o Resea ch, Educa ion, Inno a ion and In e en ion
in Spo , Facul y o Spo s, Uni e si y o Po o, 4200-450 Po o, Po ugal; [email p o ec ed]
*Co espondence: [email p o ec ed]
Abs ac :
The aim o his s udy was o analyze he in luence o age and sex on kinema ic gai pa ame-
e s in p eschool child en, and de i e e e ence alues o his popula ion. A o al o
383 p eschool
child en (age 3–5 yea s; 207 gi ls, 176 boys) pa icipa ed in his s udy. We used he Op oGai sys em
o assess he kinema ics o gai a a com o able and sel -de e mined speed. No signi ican di e ences
be ween he sexes we e ound o he main gai pa ame e s. Among he pa icipan s, he e was a
signi ican inc ease in double suppo , educ ions in absolu e cadence and he coe icien o a ia ion
(CV) o cadence, an inc ease in absolu e s ep leng h (SL), and an inc ease in he walk a io (WR) om
3 o 5 yea s o age. Howe e , he no malized SL and no malized WR displayed a signi ican educ ion
in bo h sexes. Pa ial co ela ion indica ed a signi ican associa ion o age wi h SL and no malized SL,
and WR. Addi ionally, WR showed a signi ican co ela ion wi h he CV o cadence. To summa ize,
no ele an di e ences in gai pe o mance we e ound acco ding o sex; howe e , age was ound o
in luence gai ma u a ion. The no ma i e alues es ablished o Spanish p eschool child en can be
used o moni o heal hy gai de elopmen .
Keywo ds: pedia ics; gai ; no ma i e alues; g ow h
1. In oduc ion
The p eschool age is cha ac e ized by impo an changes in he acquisi ion o locomo-
o skills and ne ous sys em ma u a ion [
1
]. Among hese, walking is an impo an skill
o p eschool child en because i s impac is mul idimensional, a ec ing cogni i e, social,
and la e mo o de elopmen [
2
]. Lea ning o walk is a long p ocess h oughou childhood,
al hough he g ea es imp o emen occu s du ing he ea ly yea s [3].
Se e al p e ious s udies ha e a emp ed o cha ac e ize gai in child en [
3
–
6
] based
on kinema ic pa ame e s such as eloci y, s ide and s ep leng h (SL), cadence, s ep ime,
gai asymme ies, gai a iabili y, o he angle o oo placemen . Howe e , he ole o
ma u a ion in he a ia ion in gai pa ame e s wi h age is s ill unclea [
7
]; oday, how and a
wha age gai ma u i y a ises a e deba ed [
4
]. Du ing childhood, walking p og esses om
an independen bu e y uns able gai a in ancy o adul -like gai pa e ns a ound
8 yea s
Child en 2022,9, 1150. h ps://doi.o g/10.3390/child en9081150 h ps://www.mdpi.com/jou nal/child en
Child en 2022,9, 1150 2 o 9
o age ha show he ma u a ion o s ep speed, SL, and s ide leng h; and he empo al
a iabili y in s ep-cycle du a ion [
8
]. In e ms o gai de elopmen , ypically de eloping
child en show a iabili y in kinema ic gai pa ame e s o a ce ain pe iod o ime [
9
]. In
pa icula , gai pa e ns du ing he ea ly yea s, such as a wide base o suppo , small s eps,
and he p e alence o a double suppo phase, can be conside ed as unc ional adap a ions
o compensa e o ins abili y; hese pa ame e s con inue ma u ing owa d he adul pa e ns
be ween 3.5 and 7 yea s o age.
O e all, s ide leng h and cadence a e he main kinema ic pa ame e s used o ana-
lyze gai ma u i y. S ide and cadence a e unc ions o an h opome ic cha ac e is ics and
sex [
10
]. A ee speed, s ide and SL inc ease and cadence dec eases un il gai ma u i y [
4
].
Su he land e al. indica ed ha he ela ionships be ween spa ial and empo al pa ame e s
a e ixed by he age o 4 yea s [
11
]. Mo eo e , G ie e and Gea [
12
] showed ha age 5 is
a ele an miles one in gai ma u a ion; howe e , o he au ho s no ed ha he ela ion-
ships be ween spa ial and empo al gai pa ame e s, measu ed by he walk a io (s ide
leng h/cadence), appea s be a ea u e o gai ha ma u es beyond he age o 7 yea s [
13
]. In
his ega d, he empo al s uc u e o gai a ia ions is no o ally es ablished in 7-yea -old
child en; howe e , in olde child en (11 o 14 yea s), he s ide dynamics app oach he
alues de ec ed in adul s [14]. Whe eas some o hese changes a e due o changes in body
size, o he s can be caused by ma u a ion o mo o con ol [11].
The mean alues o kinema ic pa ame e s e lec he unc ional cha ac e is ics o
gai [
3
]; howe e , he a iabili y in hese ac o s p o ides in o ma ion ega ding he con ol
o gai . Ne e heless, gai unc ion and gai con ol a e no always associa ed [
15
]. I
would he e o e be aluable o unde s and o wha ex en he ma u i y o gai con ol
ollows he ma u i y o unc ional pa ame e s [
3
]. In his ega d, in insic gai a iabili y,
i.e., luc ua ions in he egula i y o gai pa e ns be ween epe i i e cycles, is in insic
o he senso imo o sys em and in luenced by aspec s such as age and pa hology [
16
].
The e o e, a iabili y in spa io empo al pa ame e s can be conside ed an indi ec measu e
o gai s abili y [
17
] and is in o ma i e when in es iga ing he de elopmen o ma u e
gai [
18
]. Ano he ac o ha can in luence child en’s gai ma u i y is he walk a io (WR).
Whe eas a as numbe o combina ions o SL and cadence can occu when walking a
a pa icula speed, adul humans habi ually walk a an in a ian a io o SL di ided by
s ep a e (WR) [
19
]. I is a speed-independen index o gai con ol and e eals ene gy
expendi u e, balance, s ep- o-s ep a iabili y, and a en ion demand [
20
]. The iden i ica ion
o such a pa ame e may con ibu e o ou unde s anding o he de elopmen o he con ol
o gai in child en [21].
Changes in gai pa e ns occu as a child ma u es, bu hey may also e lec pa hological
changes in neu ological o musculoskele al sys ems [
22
]. P e ious s udies ha e shown
ha child en wi h de elopmen al diso de s o coo dina ion, a en ion de ici hype ac i i y
diso de , o au ism gene a e mo emen pa e ns wi h g ea e a iabili y and complexi y
han child en wi h ypical de elopmen [
23
–
25
]. In addi ion, he spa ial– empo al gai
a iables a e a ec ed in child en wi h diso de s; o example, he e is a educ ion in
cadence, gai eloci y, and SL, and an inc ease in s ep wid h in child en wi h au ism [
26
].
Addi ionally, child en wi h Down synd ome ha e a sho e s ide [
27
] while child en wi h
de elopmen coo dina ion diso de s walk wi h sho e s eps and a a highe equency
han ypically de eloping child en [
28
]. The e o e, he assessmen o spa io empo al sub-
componen s o gai in child en o e s signi ican clinical po en ial o unde s and bo h ypical
and a ypical b ain de elopmen [29].
In he i s yea s, any a emp o ca ego ize gai de elopmen should include a s an-
da dized baseline o kinema ic pa ame e alues wi h na ow age in e als in o de o
p o ide p ecise no ma i e da a [
30
]. The e o e, one o he p oblems in unde s anding
gai ma u a ion is he a ailabili y o age- and sex-ma ched e e ence alues o p eschool
child en. The e o e, i is impo an o build a e e ence da abase o compa ison o a ia-
ions o e ime in a child’s gai pa ame e s, and no ma i e da a on gai a e necessa y o
clinical p ac ice—p incipally in child en whose gai pa e n changes o e ime [
7
]. Mos
Child en 2022,9, 1150 3 o 9
o he s udies in he li e a u e ha e included la ge g oups o child en, wi h ages anging
om 5 o 13 yea s; howe e , he ole o de elopmen in he a ia ion in gai pa ame e s
wi h age is s ill imp ecise [
7
], especially in he ea ly yea s, du ing which i is especially
impo an o cha ac e ize an indi idual’s gai and unde s and how he gai pa e n is
acqui ed du ing childhood. To da e, he ew quan i a i e p eschool gai s udies desc ibed
in he li e a u e ha e employed ew pa icipan s and used expensi e equipmen , and ha e
been de icien in in o ma ion ega ding he ela ionships be ween gai g ow h and mo o
de elopmen [3,4,30].
Because gai de ia ions commonly occu in child en, in his ega d, examina ion
and iden i ica ion o gai abno mali ies allow app op ia e clinical decisions o be made.
The e o e, de elopmen al cen ile cha s o gai measu es o e a solu ion o assess an
indi idual child’s e olu ion. Because collec ions o no ma i e gai da a in heal hy child en
signi ican ly di e ge om one coun y o ano he [
7
], we decided o p oduce a speci ic
e e ence da abase o gai pa ame e s o Spanish p eschool child en. The e o e, he main
objec i e o his s udy was o examine he in luence o age and sex on gai kinema ic
pa ame e s in p eschool child en, and de ine he p o ile o he change in gai a iabili y
wi h age o de elop e e ence alues in his popula ion.
2. Ma e ials and Me hods
2.1. Pa icipan s
We conduc ed a c oss-sec ional s udy. A p io sample size calcula ion was pe o med
using G*Powe so wa e [
31
]. The esul ing pa ame e s we e selec ed o analysis o
a iance (ANOVA): an e ec size o = 0.250, an
α
le el o 0.05, a powe le el o 0.95, h ee
g oups, a c i ical F = 3.032. The sample size was de e mined o be a leas 252 pa icipan s.
Finally, a o al o 383 ypically de eloping child en we e included in he cu en s udy
(age = 4.17
±
0.76 yea s; age ange = 3–5 yea s, BMI = 15.69
±
2.59 kg/m
2
; 207 gi ls and
176 boys). The sample was selec ed om a la ge egion o Andalusia (Spain) con aining
bo h u ban and u al popula ions. The inclusion c i e ia o pa icipan selec ion we e: he
absence o any neu ode elopmen al o neu omo o disabili y, such as au ism o Down
synd ome; he p esence o any pa hological diso de associa ed wi h he isual o es ibula
sys ems; and o hopedic o de elopmen al di icul ies. Pa en s signed an in o med consen
o m pe mi ing hei child en o ake pa in his esea ch. The s udy was comple ed pe
he no ms o he Decla a ion o Helsinki (2013 e sion) and was accep ed by he E hics
Commi ee a he Uni e si y o Jaen (Spain) (DIC.18/3.TES).
2.2. Ma e ials and Tes ing
Body mass (kilog ams) was measu ed using a weighing scale (Seca 899; Hambu g,
Ge many), and body heigh (cen ime e s) was assessed wi h a s adiome e (Seca 222;
Hambu g, Ge many). The body mass index (BMI) was es ima ed by di iding weigh
(kilog ams) by body heigh 2(in me e s).
Gai speed (GS) was analyzed wi h pho ocells (WITTY, Mic oga e S l; Bolzano, I aly;
0.001 s accu acy) ha we e placed a he beginning and end o a 5 m co ido (Figu e 1a).
We used an Op oGai sys em (Mic oga e S l; Bolzano, I aly) (Figu e 1b) o e alua e he
kinema ics o gai . Op oGai is an op ical da a acquisi ion sys em composed o a ansmi e
and a ecei e ba . Each 1 m ba con ains 96 in a ed LEDs (1041 cm esolu ion) and is
loca ed on he ansmi e ba , con inuously communica ing wi h he LEDs posi ioned
on he ecei e ba . The ba s measu e ligh and con ac imes du ing execu ion wi h
an accu acy o 1/1000 s. Rega ding he eliabili y o he Op oGai sys em, all a iables
analyzed e ealed high concu en alidi y, wi h ICCs anging be ween 0.933 and 0.999 [
32
].
The pa ame e s selec ed o his s udy we e no malized in ela ion o body heigh acco ding
o a p e ious s udy [
33
]. Fi e kinema ic pa ame e s we e analyzed: cadence, SL, WR, and
single and double suppo . The WR ep esen s he ela ionship be ween he SL and he
cadence o mo emen o he legs. I is calcula ed as he mean SL di ided by he cadence
Child en 2022,9, 1150 4 o 9
(s eps pe minu e). Mo eo e , he a iabili y in SL and cadence in e ms o he coe icien o
a ia ion (CV) among pa icipan s, gi en as a pe cen age SD/mean
×
100, was analyzed.
Child en 2022, 9, x FOR PEER REVIEW 4 o 10
single and double suppo . The WR ep esen s he ela ionship be ween he SL and he
cadence o mo emen o he legs. I is calcula ed as he mean SL di ided by he cadence
(s eps pe minu e). Mo eo e , he a iabili y in SL and cadence in e ms o he coe icien
o a ia ion (CV) among pa icipan s, gi en as a pe cen age SD/mean×100, was analyzed.
Figu e 1. Gai analysis p ocedu e. (a) GS: Gai speed, (b) SL: s ep leng h; CV sl: gai a iabili y o
SL.
2.3. P ocedu e
The assessmen was ca ied ou on a la , s aigh , nonca pe ed su ace, and bo h ends
o he walkway we e designa ed by wo cones. The subjec s we e asked o walk a a com-
o able and sel -de e mined speed along a 5 m hallway. All subjec s wo e hei own shoes
and we e asked o walk as na u ally as possible. Addi ional me e s a he s a and u ns
we e added o a oid eco ding accele a ion o decele a ion du ing walking. Pa ially ec-
o ded oo alls we e omi ed om he analyses. Child en pe o med h ee walks o a-
milia iza ion a a sel -selec ed speed. Ten consecu i e walking ials we e eco ded wi h
an a e age s ep coun o 56.12 ± 7.49 s eps o p o ide an accu a e ep esen a ion.
2.4. S a is ical Analysis
Da a we e analyzed using SPSS, .19.0 o Windows (SPSS Inc.; Chicago, USA) and
he s a is ical so wa e package R —a ee so wa e en i onmen o s a is ical compu ing
and g aphics ha compiles and uns on a wide a ie y o UNIX pla o ms, Windows and
MacOS (R Co e Team, 2016, a ailable a : URL h ps://www.R-p ojec .o g/, accessed on 1
Sep embe 2021)—wi h he GAMLSS package and MedCalc So wa e (Ma iake ke, Bel-
gium). The signi icance le el was se o α < 0.05. The da a a e shown in desc ip i e s a is-
ics o means, s anda d de ia ions, and cen iles. Tes s o he no mal dis ibu ion and
homogenei y o a iances (Kolmogo o –Smi no and Le ene’s es , espec i ely) we e
conduc ed on all da a be o e he analysis. Di e ences be ween sex and age g oups we e
analyzed using a wo-way ANOVA co ec ed by he Bon e oni es . A pa ial co ela ion
analysis was pe o med be ween gai pa ame e s (adjus ed by age and sex); he magni-
ude o he co ela ion among measu emen a iables was se acco ding o Hopkins e al.
[34]. The coe icien o a ia ion (CV, %), gi en as a pe cen age SD/mean×100, was calcu-
la ed as a measu e o kinema ic a iabili y. Fo he SL (cen ime e s), cadence (s eps/sec-
ond),and i s CV, he pe cen ile cu es we e calcula ed as a unc ion o age s a i ied by
sex using se e al me hods o de eloping age- ela ed cu es. The Lambda, Mu, and
Sigma me hod (LMS) o e s an app oach o model da a wi h conside a ion o μ as he
loca ion pa ame e (median), as well as σ as he scale pa ame e (coe icien o a ia ion),
and he skewness pa ame e λ as he shape pa ame e . This me hod was implemen ed in
he GAMLSS package in R so wa e.
Figu e 1.
Gai analysis p ocedu e. (
a
) GS: Gai speed, (
b
) SL: s ep leng h; CV sl: gai a iabili y o SL.
2.3. P ocedu e
The assessmen was ca ied ou on a la , s aigh , nonca pe ed su ace, and bo h
ends o he walkway we e designa ed by wo cones. The subjec s we e asked o walk a a
com o able and sel -de e mined speed along a 5 m hallway. All subjec s wo e hei own
shoes and we e asked o walk as na u ally as possible. Addi ional me e s a he s a and
u ns we e added o a oid eco ding accele a ion o decele a ion du ing walking. Pa ially
eco ded oo alls we e omi ed om he analyses. Child en pe o med h ee walks o
amilia iza ion a a sel -selec ed speed. Ten consecu i e walking ials we e eco ded wi h
an a e age s ep coun o 56.12 ±7.49 s eps o p o ide an accu a e ep esen a ion.
2.4. S a is ical Analysis
Da a we e analyzed using SPSS, .19.0 o Windows (SPSS Inc.; Chicago, IL, USA) and
he s a is ical so wa e package R—a ee so wa e en i onmen o s a is ical compu ing
and g aphics ha compiles and uns on a wide a ie y o UNIX pla o ms, Windows
and MacOS (R Co e Team, 2016, a ailable a : URL h ps://www.R-p ojec .o g/, accessed
on 1 Sep embe 2021)—wi h he GAMLSS package and MedCalc So wa e (Ma iake ke,
Belgium). The signi icance le el was se o
α
< 0.05. The da a a e shown in desc ip i e
s a is ics o means, s anda d de ia ions, and cen iles. Tes s o he no mal dis ibu ion
and homogenei y o a iances (Kolmogo o –Smi no and Le ene’s es , espec i ely) we e
conduc ed on all da a be o e he analysis. Di e ences be ween sex and age g oups we e
analyzed using a wo-way ANOVA co ec ed by he Bon e oni es . A pa ial co ela ion
analysis was pe o med be ween gai pa ame e s (adjus ed by age and sex); he magni ude
o he co ela ion among measu emen a iables was se acco ding o Hopkins e al. [
34
].
The coe icien o a ia ion (CV, %), gi en as a pe cen age SD/mean
×
100, was calcula ed
as a measu e o kinema ic a iabili y. Fo he SL (cen ime e s), cadence (s eps/second),and
i s CV, he pe cen ile cu es we e calcula ed as a unc ion o age s a i ied by sex using
se e al me hods o de eloping age- ela ed cu es. The Lambda, Mu, and Sigma me hod
(LMS) o e s an app oach o model da a wi h conside a ion o
µ
as he loca ion pa ame e
(median), as well as
σ
as he scale pa ame e (coe icien o a ia ion), and he skewness
pa ame e
λ
as he shape pa ame e . This me hod was implemen ed in he GAMLSS
package in R so wa e.
3. Resul s
The kinema ic pa ame e s o gai a e shown in Table 1in ela ion o age and sex.
Ac oss he en i e pa icipan sample, he e we e signi ican di e ences be ween sexes in
double suppo and he CV o cadence, wi h gi ls displaying lowe sco es. Taking in o
Child en 2022,9, 1150 5 o 9
accoun he e ec o age, bo h in boys and gi ls, he e was a signi ican inc ease in double
suppo (p< 0.05), educ ions in he absolu e cadence (p< 0.05) and he CV o cadence
(
p< 0.05
), and inc eases in absolu e SL (p< 0.001) and he WR (p< 0.001) om 3 o 5 yea s.
Howe e , no malized SL and WR displayed a signi ican educ ion (p< 0.001 and p< 0.01,
espec i ely) in bo h sexes.
Table 1. Kinema ic pa ame e s o gai in ela ion o age and sex.
All Boys 3 Yea s 4 Yea s 5 Yea s p-Value Pos Hoc
Analysis All Gi ls 3 Yea s 4 Yea s 5 Yea s p-Value Pos -Hoc
Analysis
Veloci y (m/s) 1.22
(0.18) 1.20
(0.15) 1.20
(0.17) 1.26
(0.19) 0.200 1.24
(1.17) 1.26
(0.17) 1.20
(0.18) 1.28
(0.14) 0.010 4 < 5 *
Veloci y
no malized 0.37
(0.05) 0.38
(0.05) 0.37
(0.05) 0.37
(0.06) 0.505 0.38
(0.05) 0.40
(0.05) 0.37
(0.05) 0.38
(0.04) 0.008 4 < 5 *
CV Veloci y 0.13
(0.06) 0.15
(0.07) 0.13
(0.06) 0.12
(0.06) 0.474 0.12
(0.09) 0.13
(0.06) 0.12
(0.07) 0.13
(0.13) 0.868
Single
suppo (s) 0.34
(0.04) 0.32
(0.04) 0.34
(0.04) 0.34
(0.04) 0.188 0.34
(0.05) 0.33
(0.05) 0.33
(0.03) 0.35
(0.05) 0.027 4 < 5 *
Double
suppo (s) 0.14
(0.05) 0.13
(0.04) 0.14
(0.04) 0.16
(0.06) 0.018 4 < 5 * 0.13
(0.05) 6=
0.13
(0.05) 0.12
(0.04) 0.15
(0.05) 0.003 4 < 5 **
Cadence
(s eps/s) 2.44
(0.27) 2.53
(0.29) 2.45
(0.23) 2.37
(0.29) 0.011 3 > 5 * 2.45
(0.27) 2.53
(0.25) 2.50
(0.21) 2.36
(0.21) <0.001 3>5**
4>5**
Cadence
no malized 0.81
(0.08) 0.81
(0.09) 0.81
(0.07) 0.81
(0.09) 0.944 0.81
(0.08) 0.80
(0.08) 0.82
(0.07) 0.80
(0.10) 0.147
CV cadence (%) 21.57
(12.76) 25.48
(13.44) 21.78
(13.74) 19.05
(10.75) 0.035 3 > 5 * 18.70
(9.30) 21.77
(13.02) 18.90
(8.30) 16.91
(7.42) 0.026 3 > 5 *
SL (cm) 49.21
(5.39) 47.89
(5.28) 48.43
(5.68) 50.76
(4.83) <0.001 3<4**
3 < 5 ***
4<5**
49.83
(5.35) 49.43
(5.23) 48.17
(5.11) 51.66
(5.12) <0.001 3 < 5 ***
4 < 5 ***
SL no malized 45.17
(5.55) 47.99
(5.81) 44.92
(5.48) 43.76
(4.88) <0.001 3>4**
3 > 5 *** 46.24
(5.37) 49.47
(5.17) 45.44
(5.27) 45.34
(4.96) <0.001 3>4**
3 > 5 ***
4>5*
CV SL (%) 10.60
(4.80) 12.04
(4.88) 10.54
(4.81) 9.82
(4.63) 0.059 10.65
(7.10) 11.26
(5.42) 10.25
(5.40) 10.73
(9.10) 0.418
WR 0.34
(0.05) 0.32
(0.05) 0.33
(0.05) 0.36
(0.04) <0.001 3 < 5 ***
4<5** 0.34
(0.06) 0.33
(0.05) 0.32
(0.04) 0.37
(0.07) <0.001 3 < 5 ***
4 < 5 ***
WR no malized 0.93
(0.15) 1.00
(0.17) 0.93
(0.15) 0.90
(0.12) 0.001 3>4*
3>5** 0.96
(0.17) 1.03
(0.16) 0.93
(0.14) 0.96
(0.19) 0.008 3>4*
3>5*
6=
signi ican di e ences (p< 0.05) wi h boys. * p< 0.05, ** p< 0.01, *** p< 0.001. Values a e displayed using he
mean and s anda d de ia ion. WR: walk a io. CV: coe icien o a ia ion. SL: s ep leng h.
The pa ial co ela ion indica ed a signi ican associa ion o age wi h SL and no -
malized SL ( = 0.323, p< 0.001 and =
−
0.400, p< 0.001, espec i ely) and wi h WR
(
= 0.329
,p< 0.001). In addi ion, WR showed a signi ican associa ion wi h he CV o
cadence (
= −0.303
,p< 0.001). The cen iles o cadence, CV o cadence, SL, and CV o SL
by age and sex a e shown in Tables 2and 3.
Table 2. Cen iles o cadence and CV by age and sex.
Cadence (S eps/s)
Age (y) C2 C10 C25 C50 C75 C90 C98
Boys Gi ls Boys Gi ls Boys Gi ls Boys Gi ls Boys Gi ls Boys Gi ls Boys Gi ls
32.06 2.01 2.21 2.21 2.35 2.36 2.52 2.53 2.71 2.70 2.92 2.85 3.23 3.05
3.5 2.00 2.06 2.17 2.24 2.31 2.37 2.48 2.52 2.65 2.67 2.81 2.81 3.02 2.98
41.94 2.05 2.13 2.22 2.27 2.35 2.44 2.50 2.60 2.64 2.74 2.78 2.92 2.94
4.5 1.89 1.94 2.08 2.13 2.23 2.28 2.40 2.45 2.57 2.61 2.73 2.76 2.93 2.95
51.86 1.76 2.03 1.99 2.18 2.17 2.36 2.38 2.55 2.58 2.75 2.76 3.03 2.99
CV o Cadence
Age (y) C2 C10 C25 C50 C75 C90 C98
Boys Gi ls Boys Gi ls Boys Gi ls Boys Gi ls Boys Gi ls Boys Gi ls Boys Gi ls
30.08 0.08 0.11 0.11 0.15 0.14 0.21 0.18 0.30 0.26 0.42 0.37 0.67 0.64
3.5 0.08 0.07 0.11 0.10 0.14 0.13 0.20 0.18 0.28 0.24 0.39 0.32 0.64 0.46
40.07 0.07 0.10 0.09 0.13 0.12 0.18 0.17 0.26 0.22 0.37 0.29 0.60 0.40
4.5 0.07 0.07 0.09 0.09 0.12 0.12 0.17 0.16 0.24 0.21 0.34 0.27 0.57 0.38
50.06 0.07 0.09 0.09 0.11 0.12 0.15 0.15 0.22 0.20 0.32 0.26 0.54 0.38
Child en 2022,9, 1150 6 o 9
Table 3. Cen iles o SL and CV by age and sex.
SL (cm)
Age (y) C2 C10 C25 C50 C75 C90 C98
Boys Gi ls Boys Gi ls Boys Gi ls Boys Gi ls Boys Gi ls Boys Gi ls Boys Gi ls
336.13 40.88 40.39 43.41 43.74 45.72 47.46 48.70 51.19 52.27 54.53 56.16 58.80 62.42
3.5 36.95 39.85 41.17 42.45 44.48 44.78 48.16 47.74 51.85 51.20 55.16 54.84 59.38 60.44
437.90 39.54 42.04 42.26 45.29 44.66 48.90 47.60 52.52 51.06 55.77 54.54 59.91 59.68
4.5 39.07 40.39 43.07 43.34 46.22 45.90 49.71 49.02 53.20 52.47 56.35 55.91 60.35 60.81
540.38 41.93 44.21 45.18 47.22 47.95 50.56 51.25 53.90 54.82 56.91 58.27 60.73 63.04
CV o SL
Age (y) C2 C10 C25 C50 C75 C90 C98
Boys Gi ls Boys Gi ls Boys Gi ls Boys Gi ls Boys Gi ls Boys Gi ls Boys Gi ls
30.05 0.04 0.06 0.05 0.08 0.06 0.10 0.09 0.14 0.014 0.18 0.19 0.24 0.24
3.5 0.05 0.04 0.06 0.05 0.07 0.06 0.10 0.09 0.13 0.13 0.17 0.18 0.24 0.24
40.05 0.04 0.06 0.05 0.07 0.06 0.09 0.09 0.13 0.12 0.17 0.17 0.23 0.25
4.5 0.04 0.04 0.05 0.05 0.06 0.06 0.09 0.08 0.12 0.12 0.16 0.16 0.23 0.27
50.04 0.04 0.05 0.05 0.06 0.06 0.08 0.08 0.11 0.11 0.15 0.15 0.23 0.29
SL: s ep leng h; Y: yea s.
4. Discussion
The main objec i es o he cu en s udy we e o examine he in luence o age and sex
on kinema ic gai pa ame e s in p eschool child en, o de e mine he p o ile o change in
gai a iabili y wi h age, and o de i e e e ence alues in Spanish p eschool child en. The
main inding o his s udy was ha non-signi ican di e ences we e ound be ween sexes in
he main gai pa ame e s analyzed; howe e , age showed a signi ican in luence on cadence,
SL and i s a iabili y, and WR. Taking in o accoun ha p eschool age is a pe iod o apid
de elopmen al changes, in disag eemen wi h [
30
], we can say ha he changes in kinema ic
pa ame e s happen as se e ely as expec ed in young ypically de eloping child en. In
his ega d, Rose-Jacobs [
4
] indica ed ha because adul s walk wi h a high consis ency
o gai pa ame e s ac oss a di e si y o speeds, his au ho also expec ed child en wi h a
mo e ma u e gai o exhibi less a iabili y in gai ac o s ac oss a a ie y o speeds. Thei
indings, in acco dance wi h he cu en s udy, co obo a ed his hypo hesis.
Consis en wi h p e ious s udies [
5
,
7
,
22
], we ound ha absolu e SL inc eases wi h age,
while absolu e cadence has been shown o dec ease. Howe e , when bo h pa ame e s we e
no malized, cadence did no show signi ican changes om 3 o 5 yea s, while no malized
SL displayed a signi ican educ ion. Mo eo e , only he CV o cadence showed a signi ican
educ ion in bo h sexes om 3 o 5 yea s. In his ega d, Voss e al. [
35
] showed ha a e
no maliza ion o heigh , s ide-leng h a iabili y declined wi h age and was highes in
child en ages 5
−
6 compa ed wi h all olde age g oups. Addi ionally, absolu e cadence
educed wi h age, wi h child en aged 5–10 yea s walking mo e s eps pe minu e han olde
age g oups. In he same way, a p e ious s udy no ed ha a iabili y dec eased h oughou
childhood, mo e apidly be o e he age o se en bu con inuing beyond his age, indica ing
ha gai con ol was no ye en i ely ma u e [
3
]. Likewise, Hausdo e al. [
14
] no ed
ha measu emen s o s ide- o-s ide a iabili y we e signi ican ly la ge in bo h 3- and
4-yea -old child en compa ed wi h 6- and 7-yea -old child en. Howe e , o he au ho s
did no ind signi ican di e ences in no malized spa io empo al pa ame e s om 2 o
4 yea s [
30
]. The e o e, mo e esea ch on his ma e needs o be unde aken be o e he
associa ion be ween gai a iabili y and childhood g ow h is mo e clea ly unde s ood.
O e all, WR, as a measu e o gai ma u a ion assessmen , has o en been o e looked
in p eschool child en. WR is commonly a cons an alue in no mal heal hy popula ions,
independen o age, heigh , sex, and gai speed [
19
,
20
,
36
]. A de ia ion om his cons an
migh show an anomalous walking pa e n [
36
] and may be an indica o o a cau ious gai ,
poo balance con ol, o an impai ed gai [
37
]. In he case o impai ed mo o con ol, WR
Child en 2022,9, 1150 7 o 9
may be educed a any speed [
20
]. Al hough a dec ease in he WR may be in e p e ed as
a nonspeci ic adap i e mechanism enabling he neu al–mechanical con ol o walking a
he expense o a mode a e inc ease in he me abolic cos , an inc ease in he WR owa d
no mal limi s should be aken as desc ip i e o an imp o emen in mo o con ol, wha e e
he unde lying mechanisms [
20
]. In he cu en s udy, WR displayed an inc ease om 3 o
5 yea s
, bo h in boys and gi ls; mo eo e , WR no ed a mode a e posi i e co ela ion wi h
age and a nega i e one wi h he CV o cadence. The e o e, he WR may be an idiosync a ic
gai cha ac e is ic ha con inues o ma u e o 11 yea s [
13
]. Howe e , addi ional wo k is
needed o es ablish whe he WR is a s ong and sensi i e ma ke o gai ma u i y, which
can con ibu e o a be e unde s anding o he de elopmen o gai con ol [21].
This s udy has se e al limi a ions. Fi s , and acco ding o Gu ey e al. [
30
], child en
walking a a sel -selec ed speed could ha e had di e ences in kinema ic pa ame e s. Al e -
na i ely, walking a a ee speed would bes ep oduce each subjec ’s ypical gai pa e n
a he han using a p ede ined speed in he labo a o y se ing, which would esul in a less
na u al gai . Second, gai a se e al speeds was no es ed, and his can be e cha ac e ize
in an gai . Thi d, he indings and sugges ions o his esea ch should be ca e ully gene al-
ized beyond he g oup o pa icipan s analyzed. Finally, we did no conside designing
a longi udinal explo a ion due o he challenges o ollowing child en o yea s, gi en
ha mos o hem mo e o o he schools when hey g ow up. Ne e heless, his s udy
has se e al s eng hs, because he sample comp ised many child en om a la ge egion,
including u al and non u al a eas. In addi ion, we included in he s udy o he gai o
hese child en he analysis o he WR. The e o e, o he bes o ou knowledge, his is he
i s s udy wi h hese cha ac e is ics ca ied ou in Spanish p eschool child en.
F om a p ac ical poin o iew and conside ing he lack o e e ence alues o assessing
he gai pa ame e s o Spanish p eschoole s, he ex eme pe cen iles can be used as a
‘wa ning sign’, indica ing ha i may be necessa y o conduc supplemen a y es s o
iden i y po en ial mo o delays in his popula ion in ela ion o heal hy gai de elopmen .
5. Conclusions
To summa ize, no ele an di e ences in gai cha ac e is ics we e ound acco ding o
sex; howe e , age was shown o ha e an in luence on gai ma u a ion. The e e ence alues
es ablished o Spanish p eschool child en in he cu en s udy could be used o moni o
heal hy gai de elopmen .
Au ho Con ibu ions:
Concep ualiza ion, P.J.C.G., P.Á.L.-R., M.M.-J., J.S.-S. and J.A.P.-M.; me hodol-
ogy, L.E.R.-S., J.S.-S., M.L.-Z., A.R.-F. and M.M.-J.; alida ion, F.A.d.C., D.M.-P., P.Á.L.-R., L.E.R.-S. and
P.J.C.G.; o mal analysis, P.Á.L.-R., L.E.R.-S., A.R.-F. and J.A.P.-M.; in es iga ion, P.J.C.G., P.Á.L.-R.,
J.A.P.-M., M.L.-Z., D.M.-P. and A.R.-F.; w i ing— e iew and edi ing, P.Á.L.-R., F.A.d.C., J.S.-S., D.M.-P.
and M.L.-Z.; supe ision, J.A.P.-M., F.A.d.C., M.M.-J. and P.J.C.G. All au ho s ha e ead and ag eed
o he published e sion o he manusc ip .
Funding: This esea ch ecei ed no ex e nal unding.
Ins i u ional Re iew Boa d S a emen :
The esea ch was app o ed by he E hics Commi ee o he
Uni e si y o Jaén (Spain). Fu he mo e, he s udy ollowed he ules o he Decla a ion o Helsinki.
In o med Consen S a emen :
S udy pa icipan s ag eed in w i ing o pa icipa e olun a ily in
his p ojec .
Da a A ailabili y S a emen :
The da a ha suppo he indings o his s udy a e a ailable on eques
om he co esponding au ho .
Acknowledgmen s:
The au ho s o his s udy would like o hank he collabo a ion o se e al schools
in he p o ince o Jaén and Có doba. The au ho s a e g a e ul o all he people who ha e been in ol ed
in his s udy, including pa en s and eache s. They we e a g ea help in success ully comple ing his
s udy. All indi iduals included in his sec ion ha e consen ed o he acknowledgmen .
Con lic s o In e es : The au ho s decla e no con lic o in e es .
Child en 2022,9, 1150 8 o 9
Abb e ia ions
WR Walk a io
BMI Body mass index
GS Gai speed
CV Coe icien o a ia ion
SL S ep leng h
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