Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Montero-Odasso, M.
• Sarquis-Adamson, Y.
• Kamkar, N.
• Pieruccini-Faria, F.
• Bray, N.
• Cullen, S.
• Mahon, J.
• Titus, J.
• Camicioli, R.
• Borrie, M.J.
• Bherer, L.
• Speechley, M.

Titel

Dual-task gait speed assessments with an electronic walkway and a stopwatch in older adults. A reliability study

Ist Teil von

• Experimental gerontology, 2020-12, Vol.142, p.111102-111102, Article 111102

Ort / Verlag

England: Elsevier Inc

Erscheinungsjahr

2020

Quelle

Elsevier ScienceDirect Journals

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Slow gait speed prospectively predicts elevated risk of adverse events such as falls, morbidity, and mortality. Additionally, gait speed under a cognitively demanding challenge (dual-task gait) predicts further cognitive decline and dementia incidence. This evidence has been mostly collected using electronic walkways; however, not all clinical set ups have an electronic walkway and comparability with simple manual dual-gait speed testing, like a stopwatch, has not yet been examined. Our main objective was to assess concurrent-validity and reliability of gait speed assessments during dual-tasking using a stopwatch and electronic walkway in older adults with mild and subjective cognitive impairment (MCI and SCI). Cross-sectional, reliability study. Clinic based laboratory at an academic hospital in London, ON, Canada. 237 walk tests from 34 community-dwelling participants (mean age 71.84 SD 5.38; 21 female - 62%, 13 male - 38%) with SCI and MCI. were included from the Comprehensive Assessment of Neurodegeneration and Dementia (COMPASS-ND) study. Each participant performed seven walk tests: three single gait walks at their normal pace, three dual-task walks (walking and counting backwards by one, by sevens, and naming animals), and one fast walk. Gait speed (cm/s) for each walk was measured simultaneously with an electronic walkway (Zeno Mat®) and a handheld stopwatch (Ultrak chronometer®). Dual-task cost (DTC) was calculated for the three individual dual-task walks as [((single gait speed − dual-task gait speed) / single gait speed) ∗ 100]. Level of agreement between the two measurement methods was analyzed using Pearson correlations, paired t-tests, and Bland-Altman plots. Gait speed was consistently lower when measured with the stopwatch than with the electronic walkway (mean speed difference: 10.6 cm/s ± 5.1, p < 0.001). Calculating DTC, however, yielded very similar results with both methods (mean DTC difference: 0.19 ± 1.18, p = 0.872). The higher the DTC, the closer the measurement between methods. Assessing and calculating DTC with a stopwatch is simple, accessible and reliable. Its validity and reliability were high in this clinical sample of community older adults with SCI and MCI, •Gait speed is an important vital sign in older populations at risk for dementia.•This study measured dual task cost speed in older adults with cognitive impairment.•Dual-task cost speed is comparable using a stopwatch and an electronic gait mat.•A stopwatch is a reliable and valid way to measure dual-task cost in older adults.•This novel and freely available tool can be used by clinicians measuring gait speed.