Poor Walking Skills May Signal Risk of Dementia

The walking ability or type of gait of a person may be offer clues about oncoming Alzheimer’s disease, according to 3 new studies.

The new studies point to modifications in walking patterns as a potential indication that mental deterioration is in process. The studies were presented several days ago in Vancouver at the annual conference of the Alzheimer’s Association.

Walking ability and mental deterioration

One study which lasted for four years followed the walking ability of nearly 1,200 senior memory clinic outpatients and compared the findings to the walking ability of healthy people. The study was conducted by a Swiss team led by Dr. Stephanie Bridenbaugh of the Basel Mobility Center.

Tests showed that alterations in walking ability like a slowing of pace and a change in gait was associated with progression of mental deterioration, whether the mental condition called mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or full-blown Alzheimer’s disease.

In a conference news release, Bridenbaugh elucidated that people with Alzheimer’s dementia had a slower pace compared to those with MCI, who in turn had a slower pace than those who were healthy in terms of cognitive status.

A second study, conducted by a research team at the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging, also examined walking patterns among more than 1,300 patients. The study was led by Dr. Rodolfo Savica.

For the study, the researchers subjected each patient to at least two sessions involving tests of both mental abilities and walking skills over a period of approximately 15 months.

The researchers found an association between deterioration in mental abilities, including memory losses and impairment in executive function, and a slowed walking pace and shortening of the stride of the patient.

In the news release, Savica said that these findings buttress a potential role played by changes in gait as an early sign of cognitive impairment.

The link between gait and dementia

The last study, conducted by a Japanese research team from the Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine in Sendai, led by Kenichi Meguro, concentrated on 525 men and women 75 years old and above. For the study, the researchers subjected the patients to neurological, psychological and physical tests to evaluate the possibility that a link exists between gait and dementia.

What they found reflected what both the Swiss and American studies discovered –that with the deterioration of the patients’ walking abilities, came the decline in their mental skills as well.

In the news release, Meguro mentioned that as the symptoms of dementia increased in severity, “gait velocity was significantly decreased.” According to him, the bottom line is that: “Gait should no longer be considered a simple, automatic motor activity that is independent of cognition.” They are associated, he added.

The studies found that walking ability is associated with dementia, but they did not offer proof of a cause-and-effect relationship. It should not be forgotten that research presented at medical conferences is usually considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.