Cuban Centre for Longevity, Ageing and Health Studies, Havana, Cuba.
Aston Research Centre for Health in Ageing, Aston University, Birmingham, United Kingdom.
PLoS One. 2024 Jun 4;19(6):e0305074. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0305074. eCollection 2024.
Physical and cognitive decline at an older age is preceded by changes that accumulate over time until they become clinically evident difficulties. These changes, frequently overlooked by patients and health professionals, may respond better than fully established conditions to strategies designed to prevent disabilities and dependence in later life. The objective of this study was twofold; to provide further support for the need to screen for early functional changes in older adults and to look for an early association between decline in mobility and cognition. A cross-sectional cohort study was conducted on 95 active functionally independent community-dwelling older adults in Havana, Cuba. We measured their gait speed at the usual pace and the cognitive status using the MMSE. A value of 0.8 m/s was used as the cut-off point to decide whether they presented a decline in gait speed. A quantitative analysis of their EEG at rest was also performed to look for an associated subclinical decline in brain function. Results show that 70% of the sample had a gait speed deterioration (i.e., lower than 0.8 m/s), of which 80% also had an abnormal EEG frequency composition for their age. While there was no statistically significant difference in the MMSE score between participants with a gait speed above and below the selected cut-off, individuals with MMSE scores below 25 also had a gait speed<0.8 m/s and an abnormal EEG frequency composition. Our results provide further evidence of early decline in older adults-even if still independent and active-and point to the need for clinical pathways that incorporate screening and early intervention targeted at early deterioration to prolong the years of functional life in older age.
在老年时，身体和认知能力的下降是由随着时间的推移而积累的变化引起的，直到出现临床上明显的困难。这些变化常常被患者和医疗保健专业人员忽视，但与完全确立的疾病相比，它们可能对旨在预防老年残疾和依赖的策略有更好的反应。本研究的目的有两个；为需要筛查老年人早期功能变化提供进一步的支持，并寻找移动性和认知能力下降之间的早期关联。在古巴哈瓦那对 95 名活跃的、功能独立的社区居住的老年人进行了一项横断面队列研究。我们测量了他们的常规步速和认知状态使用 MMSE。使用 0.8 m/s 作为截定点来决定他们是否存在步速下降。还对他们的 EEG 进行了定量分析，以寻找脑功能相关的亚临床下降。结果表明，70%的样本存在步态速度恶化（即低于 0.8 m/s），其中 80%的样本也存在与其年龄不符的异常 EEG 频率组成。虽然在 MMSE 评分方面，步速高于和低于所选截定点的参与者之间没有统计学上的显著差异，但 MMSE 评分低于 25 的个体也存在步速<0.8 m/s 和异常 EEG 频率组成。我们的结果进一步证明了老年人的早期衰退——即使他们仍然独立和活跃——并指出需要临床途径，将筛查和早期干预纳入其中，以针对早期恶化进行早期干预，延长老年人的功能寿命。
