Premium
Association Between Performance on Timed Up and Go Subtasks and Mild Cognitive Impairment: Further Insights into the Links Between Cognitive and Motor Function
Author(s) -
Mirelman Anat,
Weiss Aner,
Buchman Aron S.,
Bennett David A.,
Giladi Nir,
Hausdorff Jefferey M.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/jgs.12734
Subject(s) - medicine , cognition , dementia , cognitive impairment , audiology , physical medicine and rehabilitation , gait , preferred walking speed , association (psychology) , perception , physical therapy , psychology , psychiatry , disease , neuroscience , psychotherapist
Objectives To assess whether different T imed U p and G o ( TUG ) subtasks are affected differently in older adults with mild cognitive impairment ( MCI ) and are specific to different cognitive abilities. Design Cross‐sectional. Setting Community and home. Participants Older adults without dementia (N = 347; mean age 83.6 ± 3.5, 75% female, 19.3% with MCI ) participating in the R ush M emory and A ging P roject. Measurements Subjects wore a small, light‐weight sensor that measured acceleration and angular velocity while they performed the instrumented TUG (i TUG ). Measures of i TUG were derived from four subtasks (walking, turning, sit‐to‐stand, stand‐to‐sit) and compared between participants with MCI and those with no cognitive impairment. Results Participants with no cognitive impairment and those with MCI did not differ in age ( P = .90), sex ( P = .80), years of education ( P = .48) or time to complete the TUG (no cognitive impairment 7.6 ± 3.7 seconds; MCI 8.4 ± 3.7 seconds; P = .12). Participants with MCI had less walking consistency ( P = .009), smaller pitch range during transitions ( P = .005), lower angular velocity during turning ( P = .04) and required more time to complete the turn‐to‐walk ( P = .04). Gait consistency was correlated with perceptual speed ( P = .01), and turning was correlated with perceptual speed ( P = .02) and visual‐spatial abilities ( P = .049). Conclusion Mild cognitive impairment is associated with impaired performance on i TUG subtasks that cannot be identified when simply measuring overall duration of performance. Distinctive i TUG tasks were related to particular cognitive domains, demonstrating the specificity of motor–cognitive interactions. Using a single sensor worn on the body for quantification of mobility may facilitate understanding of late‐life gait impairments and their interrelationship with cognitive decline.