Title:Spatiotemporal Gait Characteristics Associated with Cognitive Impairment: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study, the Intercontinental “Gait, cOgnitiOn & Decline” Initiative
Volume: 15
Issue: 3
Author(s): Olivier Beauchet*, Helena M. Blumen, Michele L. Callisaya, Anne-Marie De Cock, Reto W. Kressig, Velandai Srikanth , Jean-Paul Steinmetz, Joe Verghese and Gilles Allali
Affiliation:
- Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatric Medicine, Sir Mortimer B. Davis - Jewish General Hospital and Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec,Canada
Keywords:
Epidemiology, gait disorders, motor control, cognitive disorders, gait assessment, Alzheimer's disease.
Abstract: Background: The study aims to determine the spatiotemporal gait parameters and/or their
combination(s) that best differentiate between cognitively healthy individuals (CHI), patients with mild
cognitive impairment (MCI) and those with mild and moderate dementia, regardless of the etiology of
cognitive impairment.
Methods: A total of 2099 participants (1015 CHI, 478 patients with MCI, 331 patients with mild dementia
and 275 with moderate dementia) were selected from the intercontinental “Gait, cOgnitiOn & Decline”
(GOOD) initiative, which merged different databases from seven cross-sectional studies. Mean
values and coefficients of variation (CoV) of spatiotemporal gait parameters were recorded during usual
walking with the GAITRite® system.
Results: The severity of cognitive impairment was associated with worse performance on all gait parameters.
Stride velocity had the strongest association with cognitive impairment, regardless of cognitive
status. High mean value and CoV of stride length characterized moderate dementia, whereas increased
CoV of stride time was specific to MCI status.
Conclusion: The findings support the existence of specific cognitive impairment-related gait disturbances
with differences related to stages of cognitive impairment, which may be used to screen individuals
with cognitive impairment.
