Talking while walking

Abstract

We determined the effects of distraction on gait in healthy elderly subjects and Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. The effects of simultaneous performance of a verbal fluency task (effect of reciting male or female names) on the time and number of steps taken to walk 30 feet were compared using a repeated-measures design with between-group comparison between community-dwelling healthy old old (oOld; n = 20; mean age +/- SD, 86 +/- 4.4), healthy young old (yOld; n = 23; mean age +/- SD, 72 +/- 3.6), and probable AD subjects without parkinsonism (n = 15; mean age +/- SD, 74 +/- 13). AD patients slowed more than the yOld (p = 0.005) and the oOld (p = 0.002). The yOld and oOld did not differ from each other (p = 0.68). Mean (+/-SD) differences in time were as follows: yOld, -2.2 +/- 1.9; oOld, -1.6 +/- 2.0; AD, -7.1 +/- 9.2 seconds. The change in steps did not differ between groups. Walking speed of AD patients slowed more than that of elderly subjects during the dual task. This may contribute to the risk of falls in AD.

Balance impairment does not necessarily coexist with gait apraxia in mild and moderate Alzheimer’s disease

“…Earlier studies had demonstrated significant correlations between gait and cognitive decline in AD 23,24 . However, confirmation of frontal involvement in these patients might demand neuroimaging and a more comprehensive cognitive assessment to investigate every single domain related to these brain regions.…”

Gait dynamics, fractals and falls: Finding meaning in the stride-to-stride fluctuations of human walking

“…Falls are a major health problem with significant social and economic ramifications (AGS Guidelines, 2001;Camicioli, Howieson, Lehman, & Kaye, 1997;Campbell et al, 1990;Condron & Hill, 2002;Kannus et al, 1999;Tinetti, 1994;Tinetti, Doucette, Claus, & Marottoli, 1995;. Falls can lead to serious injuries like hip fractures and hospitalization (Kannus et al, 1999(Kannus et al, , 2006Tinetti et al, 1988).…”

Loss of gait control assessed by cognitive-motor dual-tasks: pros and cons in detecting people at risk of developing Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases

“…Such disorders include decreases in gait speed (Camicioli et al 1997;Sheridan et al 2003;Cocchini et al 2004;Pettersson et al 2007;Maquet et al 2010;Coelho et al 2012;Muir et al 2012;Rucco et al 2017), cadence (Coelho et al 2012;Rucco et al 2017), stride length, and increases in stride width (Rucco et al 2017), double support time Rucco et al 2017), swing time, stance time (Rucco et al 2017), stride time , stride length asymmetry (Maquet et al 2010), stride length variability (Rucco et al 2017), stride time variability (Sheridan et al 2003;Muir et al 2012), stance time variability, swing time variability, and stride width variability (Rucco et al 2017). In most studies, the authors analyzed dual-task-related changes in gait but not in cognitive performance.…”