Dual-task-related gait changes in the elderly: does the type of cognitive task matter?
Dual-task-related gait changes among older adults while they perform spoken verbal tasks have been reported frequently. The authors examined whether the type of walking-associated spoken verbal task matters for dual-task-related gait changes in 16 older adults classified as transitionally frail. Mean stride time increased significantly when they walked and performed an arithmetic or a verbal fluency task compared with when they only walked (p < .001), whereas the coefficients of variation increased significantly only when they walked and performed the arithmetic task (p = .005) but not the verbal fluency task (p = .134). Those findings suggest that stride time variability under a dual-task condition depends on the type of walking-associated spoken verbal task.
Beauchet
O
O
Department of Rehabilitation and Geriatrics, Geneva University Hospitals, CH-1226 Thonex-Geneva, Switzerland. olivier.beauchet@hcuge.ch
Dubost
V
V
Aminian
K
K
Gonthier
R
R
Kressig
R W
RW
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001288:Attention; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013067:Speech Perception