Article

Gait impairment is a prominent falls risk factor and a prevalent feature among
older adults with cognitive impairment. However, there is a lack of comparative
studies on gait performance and fall risk covering the continuum from normal
cognition through mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to Alzheimer's disease (AD). We
evaluated gait performance and the response to dual-task challenges in older
adults with AD, MCI and normal cognition without a history of falls. We
hypothesized that, in older people without history of falls,
gait performance
will deteriorate across the cognitive spectrum with changes being more evident
under dual-tasking. Gait was assessed using an electronic walkway under single
and three dual-tasks conditions. Gait velocity and stride time variability were
not significantly different between the three groups under the single-task
condition. By contrast, significant differences of decreasing velocity
(p<0.0001), increasing stride time (p=0.0057) and increasing stride time
variability (p=0.0037) were found under dual-task testing for people with MCI and
AD. Less automatic and more complex dual-task tests, such as naming animals and
serial subtraction by sevens from 100, created the greatest deterioration of gait
performance. Gait changes under dual-tasking for the MCI and AD groups were
statistically different from the cognitively normal controls.
Dual-task
assessment exposed gait impairments not obvious under a single-task test
condition and may facilitate falls risk identification in cognitively impaired
persons without a history of falls.
CI - Copyright (c) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS