title: The relationships among gait and mobility under single and dual task conditions in community-dwelling older adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to examine relationships among gait and mobility under single and dual task conditions in older adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  Community-dwelling older adults (n=41, mean age=75) completed mobility and gait tasks. Mobility was assessed with the Timed-Up-and-Go (TUG). Select gait parameters were examined while individuals walked at their preferred speed across the GAITRite electronic walkway. Two age groups were studied (younger age group=65-75; older age group=76+). Multiple linear regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between gait and mobility under single vs dual conditions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Older adults required more time to complete the TUG when concurrently performing a second cognitive task (10.84 sec vs 15.77 sec). In addition, one or more gait characteristic such as stride length, cadence and stance explained (a) a high percentage of variance in mobility performance under single task conditions (TUG 74%) and (b) a smaller portion of variance in mobility performance under dual task conditions (TUGc 25%). No salient age group differences were observed in TUG performance, but gait characteristics accounted for a larger portion of variance in TUGc performance (46%) for the older age group (mean age=81) than for the younger age group (mean age=69; TUGc 18%).
authors.affiliation: Department of Exercise Science, University of South Carolina, 1300 Wheat Street, Columbia, SC 29208, USA. ullmann@sc.edu
authors.forename: Gerhild
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ullmann
authors.forename: Harriet G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Williams
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001288:Attention; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait / Q000502:physiology*; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology*