Toosizadeh Nima, Najafi Bijan, Reiman Eric M, Mager Reine M, Veldhuizen Jaimeson K, O'Connor Kathy, Zamrini Edward, Mohler Jane
Arizona Center on Aging, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson AZ, USA.
Arizona Center on Aging, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Arizona, TucsonAZ, USA; Interdisciplinary Consortium on Advanced Motion Performance, Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, University of Arizona, TucsonAZ, USA; Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, University of Arizona, TucsonAZ, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Arizona, TucsonAZ, USA.
Front Aging Neurosci. 2016 Jul 7;8:167. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2016.00167. eCollection 2016.
Difficulties in orchestrating simultaneous tasks (i.e., dual-tasking) have been associated with cognitive impairments in older adults. Gait tests have been commonly used as the motor task component for dual-task assessments; however, many older adults have mobility impairments or there is a lack of space in busy clinical settings. We assessed an upper-extremity function (UEF) test as an alternative motor task to study the dual-task motor performance in older adults.
Older adults (≥65 years) were recruited, and cognitive ability was measured using the Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA). Participants performed repetitive elbow flexion with their maximum pace, once single-task, and once while counting backward by one (dual-task). Single- and dual-task gait tests were also performed with normal speed. Three-dimensional kinematics was measured both from upper-extremity and lower-extremity using wearable sensors to determine UEF and gait parameters. Parameters were compared between the cognitively impaired and healthy groups using analysis of variance tests, while controlling for age, gender, and body mass index (BMI). Correlations between UEF and gait parameters for dual-task and dual-task cost were assessed using linear regression models.
Sixty-seven older adults were recruited (age = 83 ± 10 years). Based on MoCA, 10 (15%) were cognitively impaired. While no significant differences were observed in the single-task condition, within the dual-task condition, the cognitively impaired group showed significantly less arm flexion speed (62%, d = 1.51, p = 0.02) and range of motion (27%, d = 0.93, p = 0.04), and higher speed variability (88%, d = 1.82, p < 0.0001) compared to the cognitively intact group, when adjusted with age, gender, and BMI. Significant correlations were observed between UEF speed parameters and gait stride velocity for dual-task condition (r = 0.55, p < 0.0001) and dual-task cost (r = 0.28, p = 0.03).
We introduced a novel test for assessing dual-task performance in older adults that lasts 20 s and is based on upper-extremity function. Our results confirm significant associations between upper-extremity speed, range of motion, and speed variability with both the MoCA score and the gait performance within the dual-task condition.
协调同时进行的任务（即多任务处理）存在困难与老年人的认知障碍有关。步态测试通常被用作多任务评估中的运动任务组成部分；然而，许多老年人存在行动不便的问题，或者在繁忙的临床环境中缺乏空间。我们评估了一项上肢功能（UEF）测试，作为一种替代运动任务，以研究老年人的多任务运动表现。
招募了老年人（≥65岁），并使用蒙特利尔认知评估（MoCA）测量认知能力。参与者以最大速度进行重复性肘部弯曲，一次单任务，一次同时倒数（多任务）。还以正常速度进行了单任务和多任务步态测试。使用可穿戴传感器从上肢和下肢测量三维运动学，以确定UEF和步态参数。在控制年龄、性别和体重指数（BMI）的情况下，使用方差分析测试比较认知障碍组和健康组之间的参数。使用线性回归模型评估UEF与多任务和多任务成本的步态参数之间的相关性。
招募了67名老年人（年龄=83±10岁）。根据MoCA，10名（15%）存在认知障碍。在单任务条件下未观察到显著差异，但在多任务条件下，与认知正常组相比，经年龄、性别和BMI调整后，认知障碍组的手臂弯曲速度显著降低（62%，d=1.51，p=0.02），运动范围降低（27%，d=0.93，p=0.04），速度变异性更高（88%，d=1.82，p＜）。在多任务条件下，UEF速度参数与步态步速（r=0.55，p＜）和多任务成本（r=0.28，p=0.03）之间观察到显著相关性。
我们引入了一种新的测试方法，用于评估老年人的多任务表现，该测试基于上肢功能，持续20秒。我们的结果证实了上肢速度、运动范围和速度变异性与MoCA评分以及多任务条件下的步态表现之间存在显著关联。 0.0001 0.0001
