Walking more slowly in old age could be a sign of dementia, a new study has suggested. The research, carried out by the University of Minnesota and Monash University, says that the ability to walk could become more difficult as the brain declines.
The study, which monitored people over 75, found that those who lost 0.05 meters per second from their pace every year had signs of mental decline. Researchers said this could be due to a link between brain decline affecting the areas involved in controlling walking and pace, reports the Daily Record.
The study tracked 17,000 older adults over a seven-year period, with walking speeds and cognition tested every other year. Those who were declining in both cognition and walking speed were found to be at a higher risk of dementia.
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This group, dubbed "dual decliners", saw about 178 cases of the condition detected, which is 11.3 percent of the total number of participants in the study. Those who showed no decline in cognition or walk were least likely to have the disease, with just 0.3 percent diagnosed.
The study did not find a more general link between walking speed and dementia risk. It found those who slowed down but did not already show signs of cognitive decline were at similar risk to those whose walking speed remained the same.
Still, a decline in both cognition and walking speed could warn of dementia, according to the researchers, who suggest speed and memory may be the best way to assess cognitive decline. The study was led by Dr Taya Collyer, a biostatician from Monash University, and concluded: "Association between [brain] domains, such as processing speed and verbal fluency, with gait have been explained by the crossover in the underlying networks or pathology."
The study added: "These results highlight the importance of gait in dementia risk assessment. "They suggest that dual decline in gait speed and memory measure may be the best combination to assess future decline."
The study was published this week in JAMA Network Open.
