title: The impact of time of day on the gait and balance control of Alzheimer's patients.
abstract: Alzheimer's patients suffer from circadian dysregulation. The aim of this study was to examine the evolution of balance control and gait at different times of the day (11:00, 14:00, 18:00) in order to identify whether Alzheimer's patients were more likely to fall at certain periods of the day. Spatio-temporal parameters of centre of foot pressure displacements were measured with a force platform and spatio-temporal parameters of walking were evaluated with a gait analysis device. The results highlighted that balance control was worse in the evening and the afternoon than in the morning. Furthermore, the walking speed was faster and support duration, swing duration and cycle duration were shorter in the evening than in the morning and afternoon. The combined analysis of balance control and gait parameters revealed that balance control and walking are concomitantly altered in the evening which increases the fall risk in the evening, in comparison with the morning, for Alzheimer's patients.
authors.affiliation: a Département STAPS, Laboratoire Activité Physique, Performance et Santé , Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour , Tarbes , France.
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Paillard
authors.affiliation: a Département STAPS, Laboratoire Activité Physique, Performance et Santé , Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour , Tarbes , France.
authors.forename: Frederic
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Noé
authors.affiliation: b Laboratoire de Mathématique et leurs Applications, UMR CNRS 5142 , Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour , Pau , France.
authors.forename: Noëlle
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bru
authors.affiliation: c Centre Hospitalier de Lourdes, Service gériatrique , Lourdes , France.
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Couderc
authors.affiliation: a Département STAPS, Laboratoire Activité Physique, Performance et Santé , Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour , Tarbes , France.|c Centre Hospitalier de Lourdes, Service gériatrique , Lourdes , France.
authors.forename: Lola
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Debove
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; chronobiology; fall risk; gait; postural control; sundown syndrome