Department of Human Sciences and Public Health, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Bournemouth University, England.
Department of Psychology and Ageing and Dementia Research Centre, Faculty of Science and Technology, Bournemouth University, England.
J Geriatr Phys Ther. 2021;44(3):E150-E157. doi: 10.1519/JPT.0000000000000265.
The instrumented Timed Up and Go test (iTUG) affords quantification of the subelements of the Timed Up and Go test to assess fall risk and physical performance. A miniature sensor applied to the back is able to capture accelerations and velocities from which the subelements of the iTUG can be quantified. This study is the first to compare iTUG performance between people with dementia (PWD) and their age-matched caregivers. The aims of this study were to explore how age moderates the differences in performance on the iTUG between PWD and their informal caregivers.
Eight-three community-dwelling older PWD and their informal caregivers were recruited for this cross-sectional, observational study. Participants were grouped by age: younger than 70 years, 70 to 79 years, and 80 years and older. Participants wore an inertial sensor while performing the iTUG in their home. The performance of the subelements sit-to-stand, walking, and turning were captured through an algorithm converting accelerations and velocities into performance metrics such as duration and peak velocity. Performance for PWD was compared with caregivers for each age-matched group, and multiple regression models incorporating age, gender, and presence or absence of dementia were computed.
People with dementia took longer to turn in the younger than 70-year group, suggesting this may be an early indicator of functional decline in this age group. People with dementia took longer to complete the whole iTUG compared with caregivers in the 70- to 79-year-old group. In the 80+-year-old group, PWD took longer to complete both walking phases, sit-to-stand, and the full iTUG along with displaying slower turning velocity. Multiple regression models illustrated that gender failed to contribute significantly to the model, but age and presence of dementia explained around 30% of the variance of time to complete walking phases, total iTUG, and turning velocity.
Differences were evident in performance of the iTUG between PWD and caregivers even after controlling for age. Age moderates the differences observed in performance.
有仪器辅助的计时起立行走测试（iTUG）可以对计时起立行走测试的各个亚项进行量化，从而评估跌倒风险和身体机能。一个贴在背部的微型传感器可以捕捉加速度和速度，从而对 iTUG 的各个亚项进行量化。这项研究首次比较了痴呆症患者（PWD）及其年龄匹配的照顾者之间 iTUG 的表现。本研究旨在探讨年龄如何调节 PWD 及其非专业照顾者之间 iTUG 表现的差异。
本横断面观察性研究共招募了 83 名居住在社区的老年 PWD 及其非专业照顾者。参与者按年龄分组：小于 70 岁、70-79 岁和 80 岁及以上。参与者在家中佩戴惯性传感器进行 iTUG 测试。通过将加速度和速度转换为性能指标（如持续时间和峰值速度）的算法，捕获从坐到站起、行走和转身等亚项的表现。将 PWD 的表现与每个年龄匹配组的照顾者进行比较，并计算包含年龄、性别以及是否存在痴呆症的多元回归模型。
在小于 70 岁的年龄组中，痴呆症患者转身时间较长，这表明这可能是该年龄组功能下降的早期指标。在 70-79 岁的年龄组中，痴呆症患者完成整个 iTUG 的时间比照顾者长。在 80 岁及以上的年龄组中，PWD 完成行走阶段、从坐到站起以及整个 iTUG 的时间都较长，转身速度也较慢。多元回归模型表明，性别对模型的贡献不显著，但年龄和痴呆症的存在解释了行走阶段、整个 iTUG 和转身速度完成时间的约 30%的方差。
即使控制了年龄，痴呆症患者和照顾者在 iTUG 表现上仍存在差异。年龄调节了观察到的表现差异。
