title: Simultaneously measuring gait and cognitive performance in cognitively healthy and cognitively impaired older adults: the Basel motor-cognition dual-task paradigm.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate dual-task performance of gait and cognition in cognitively healthy and cognitively impaired older adults using a motor-cognition dual-task paradigm.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional retrospective study.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Basel Memory Clinic and the Basel Study on the Elderly (Project BASEL).
  
  
  METHODS
  Seven hundred eleven older adults (mean age 77.2±6.2, 350 (49.2%) female and 361 (50.8%) male).
  
  
  METHODS
  Gait velocity and cognitive task performance using a working memory (counting backward from 50 by 2s) and a semantic memory (enumerating animal names) task were measured during single- and dual-task conditions. Gait was assessed using the GAITRite electronic walkway system. Cognitive impairment was defined as a score less than 25 on the Mini-Mental State Examination.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During dual tasks, participants reduced gait velocity (P<.001) and calculated fewer numbers (P=.03) but did not enumerate fewer animals and did not make more errors or repetitions (P>.10). Cognitively impaired individuals had lower baseline gait velocity and a greater reduction in gait velocity but not cognitive performance during dual tasks than cognitively healthy participants (P<.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Gait velocity was lower during both dual tasks, whereas decrease in cognitive performance depended on the cognitive ability needed in the dual-task condition. Cognitively impaired individuals generally have poorer baseline performance and greater dual task-related gait velocity reduction than those who are cognitively healthy. Future research should include different conditions for gait to determine adaptive potentials of older adults.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Division of Gerontopsychology, International Normal Aging and Plasticity Imaging Center, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. n.theill@access.uzh.ch
authors.forename: Nathan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Theill
authors.forename: Mike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Vera
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Schumacher
authors.forename: Stephanie A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Bridenbaugh
authors.forename: Reto W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Kressig
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001288:Attention; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D051346:Mobility Limitation; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011340:Problem Solving; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014706:Verbal Learning