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Dual‐tasking gait variability and cognition in late‐life depression
Author(s) -
Gabel Nicolette M.,
Crane Natania A.,
Avery Erich T.,
Kay Rachel E.,
Laurent Amanda,
Giordani Bruno,
Alexander Neil B.,
Weisenbach Sara L.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
international journal of geriatric psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.28
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1166
pISSN - 0885-6230
DOI - 10.1002/gps.4340
Subject(s) - gait , depression (economics) , cognition , physical medicine and rehabilitation , psychology , late life depression , dual (grammatical number) , gerontology , medicine , psychiatry , art , literature , economics , macroeconomics
Objectives Studies have demonstrated an association between major depressive disorder (MDD) symptoms and fall risk in older adults, which may be at least partially mediated by executive functioning skills. There have also been observations of increased gait variability associated with fall risk and disease. This preliminary study first sought to understand whether gait variability in the context of dual task cost differs among older adults with MDD, relative to those with no history of psychiatric illness, and second, to identify relationships between gait variability measures and cognitive functioning in the context of MDD. Methods We recruited 15 older adults with MDD and 17 non‐depressed (ND) community‐dwelling older adults. All participants had impaired balance based on unipedal stance time. Assessments included neuropsychological measures and measures of gait variability using an instrumented gait mat (GAITRite © ) in the context of dual task relative to single task performance (i.e., dual task cost). Results The groups did not differ on any gait variability parameters. The MDD group demonstrated poorer performance in the psychomotor speed domain, relative to the ND group, but cognitive functioning between the groups in other domains was equivalent. In MDD, increased variability in stride time, stride velocity, and swing time during dual‐tasking were associated with poorer executive functioning and visual memory. In ND, no significant relationships between gait variables and cognitive performance were observed. Conclusions Findings suggest that unique cognitive mechanisms underlie mobility problems associated with fall risk in late‐life depression. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.