1 Gait and Brain Lab, Parkwood Institute, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada.
2 Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Department of Medicine and Division of Geriatric Medicine, London, Ontario, Canada.
3 Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Western Ontario, London, N6C 0A7, Canada.
4 Department of Medicine and Neurology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
5 Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
6 Movement Disorders Research & Rehabilitation Centre, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
7 Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
8 Departments of Medicine, Montreal Heart Institute and Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
9 Department of Medicine, Division of Neurology and Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Gait variability across neurodegenerative and cognitive disorders: Results from the Canadian Consortium of Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA) and the Gait and Brain Study.

Alzheimers Dement. 2021 Feb 16; :

Authors: Pieruccini-Faria F, Black SE, Masellis M, Smith EE, Almeida QJ, Li KZH, Bherer L, Camicioli R, Montero-Odasso M

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Gait impairment is common in neurodegenerative disorders. Specifically, gait variability-the stride-to-stride fluctuations in distance and time-has been associated with neurodegeneration and cognitive impairment. However, quantitative comparisons of gait impairments across the cognitive spectrum of dementias have not been systematically investigated.

METHODS: Older adults (N = 500) with subjective cognitive impairment, Parkinson disease (PD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), PD-MCI, Alzheimer's disease (AD), PD-dementia, Lewy body dementia, and frontotemporal dementia, as well cognitive normal controls, who were assessed for their gait and cognitive performance.

RESULTS: Factor analyses grouped 11 quantitative gait parameters and identified four independent gait domains: rhythm, pace, variability, and postural control, for group comparisons and classification analysis. Among these domains, only high gait variability was associated with lower cognitive performance and accurately discriminated AD from other neurodegenerative and cognitive conditions.

DISCUSSION: Our findings indicate that high gait variability is a marker of cognitive-cortical dysfunction, which can help to identify Alzheimer's disease dementia.

PMID: 33590967 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]