GAIT VARIABILITY AT FAST-PACE WALKING SPEED: A BIOMARKER OF MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT

Background: the interpretation of the increase in stride-to-stride variability of stride time (StV) regarding the evolution of cognitive deficits across the dementia spectrum is matter of debate. Objective: the aim of this study was to compare StV at usual and fast-pace walking speeds of mci patients with that of cognitively healthy individuals (chi) and alzheimer’s disease (aD) patients with mild dementia, while considering the effects of potential confounders. Methods: StV while walking at usual and fast-pace walking speeds was recorded with the GaitRite® system from 116 older adults (mean age 75.6±6.5 years; 55.2% female) divided into 3 groups according to their cognitive status (44 chi, 39 mci patients and 33 aD patients with mild dementia). Results: the full adjusted multiple linear regression models showed that high StV was associated with slow gait speed at usual-pace walking speed (P=0.002) and with the mci status at fast-pace walking speed (P=0.015). Conclusions: high StV at fast-pace walking speed was a specific gait disturbance of mci patients in the sample of studied participants, and thus could be used in the future as a specific biomarker of mci patients