Functional reach of older adults: normative reference values based on new and published data

Objectives To provide normative reference values for the standing functional reach test for older adults. Design Observational study and meta-analysis of data from published studies. Setting Clinical Research Center. Participants Older adults: 199 hypertensive from INFINITY study and 7535 from consolidation of INFINITY and 20 other studies. Main outcome measure Functional reach. Results The mean (standard deviation) for functional reach for the hypertensive older adults was 27.5 (7.2) cm. For the consolidated sample of older adults, a random effects model determined a weighted mean (standard error) functional reach of 27.2 (0.9) cm with a 95% confidence interval of 25.5 to 28.9cm. Conclusion Pending the availability of data from a large population-based study, the summary data presented herein can serve as a reasonable estimate of normal functional reach for older adults.