Grant: CIHR Café Scientifique Program

Mobility defined as the ability to walk safely and independently in one's natural environment, is critical for one's independence in daily activities, for continuing social interactions and for maintaining overall quality of life. Therefore, preserving mobility and delaying mobility disability in late life is vital for active and healthy ageing. Paradoxically, mobility declines with increasing age even when not accompanied by overtly catastrophic co-morbid conditions. In older persons, disability usually occurs first in mobility followed by a downward spiral of progressive disablement2 becomes. However, it is generally accepted that detecting mobility deficits during an early or preclinical stage is likely an important opportunity for implementing preventative measures. From pioneering research to recent papers on characteristics of non-disabled people with poor lower extremity function, it appears that mobility disability prevention must happen at the community, as well as the individual level. Although, in older persons the intricate pathway to the initiation of the disablement process, which is disability in mobility, is not clearly understood unless preceded by a catastrophic event (e.g. stroke), some possible predisposing risk factors have been explored. The proposed `Increasing age and declining mobility: What do we need to know?` scientific café will provide an opportunity for an interactive dialogue with older persons living in the Kingston and surrounding areas about the possible risk factors of mobility disability.