The Psychometric Properties of the Short Physical Performance Battery to Assess Physical Performance in Older Adults: A Systematic Review.

Background: Maintaining physical performance in older age is critical. The Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) is one of many tools available to measure physical performance in older people.

Purpose: Describe the psychometric properties of the SPPB.

Methods: Using a systematic review methodology, quantitative studies addressing the validity, reliability, and sensitivity of the SPPB in populations 60 years or older were included. We searched 8 databases: MEDLINE, CINAHL, Cochrane, Ageline, Amed, Embase, Scopus, and Emcare, as well as gray literature. Two researchers independently screened, appraised, and extracted data from the literature, following which a descriptive synthesis was undertaken.

Results: Twenty-eight studies with varying methodological quality were included. Floor and ceiling effects were reported in 4 studies, generally related to very high or very low functioning adults. Nineteen studies investigated validity with varying correlations between the SPPB and other physical performance assessment tools. Ten studies reported good to excellent reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient ranging 0.82-0.92). Minimum detectable change indicates low sensitivity (ranging 0.7-3.42).

Discussion: Evidence from the literature indicates that the SPPB is a reliable and valid measure of physical performance in adults older than 60 years. However, the SPPB has a narrow scope and is most appropriate for frail older adults who can ambulate and are cognitively able to follow instructions. It has limited applicability for specific populations such as people with dementia who have difficulty following instructions. Targeted training for users may improve its usability and success in clinical practice.

Conclusions: Clinicians should be mindful that while the SPPB has good validity and reliability, it has limited applicability for people with dementia and is not particularly sensitive to change. In practice, this means that it provides a good snapshot of a client's physical performance compared with the rest of the older population; it is less useful for tracking changes to physical performance over time.