• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Tracking Health and Wellness Applications of Brain Science

Spanish
sb-logo-with-brain
  • Resources
    • Monthly eNewsletter
    • Solving the Brain Fitness Puzzle
    • The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness
    • How to evaluate brain training claims
    • Resources at a Glance
  • Brain Teasers
    • Top 25 Brain Teasers & Games for Teens and Adults
    • Brain Teasers for each Cognitive Ability
    • More Mind Teasers & Games for Adults of any Age
  • Virtual Summits
    • 2019 SharpBrains Virtual Summit
    • Speaker Roster
    • Brainnovations Pitch Contest
    • 2017 SharpBrains Virtual Summit
    • 2016 SharpBrains Virtual Summit
    • 2015 SharpBrains Virtual Summit
    • 2014 SharpBrains Virtual Summit
  • Report: Pervasive Neurotechnology
  • Report: Digital Brain Health
  • About
    • Mission & Team
    • Endorsements
    • Public Speaking
    • In the News
    • Contact Us

Dual decline in gait speed and memory function seen as most predictive of future dementia

June 8, 2022 by SharpBrains Leave a Comment

Walk­ing Speed Helps Pre­dict Future Demen­tia (Med­Page Today):

Dual decline in gait speed and cog­ni­tion car­ried a high­er risk of demen­tia than either gait-only decline or cog­ni­tive-only decline, report­ed Taya Col­ly­er, PhD, of Monash Uni­ver­si­ty in Vic­to­ria, Aus­tralia, and co-authors, in JAMA Net­work Open…

“Slow­ing gait and fail­ing mem­o­ry may be the best com­bi­na­tion of clin­i­cal mea­sures to iden­ti­fy peo­ple at risk of future demen­tia,” co-author Michele Cal­lisaya, PhD, of the Nation­al Cen­ter for Healthy Aging at Monash Uni­ver­si­ty and Penin­su­la Health, told Med­Page Today.

“By the time a diag­no­sis of demen­tia is made, there’s already been a sub­stan­tial buildup of pathol­o­gy in the brain,” Cal­lisaya said. “It’s impor­tant to iden­ti­fy at-risk indi­vid­u­als ear­ly to address mod­i­fi­able risk fac­tors for demen­tia pre­ven­tion and start new treat­ments as they become available.”

“Gait speed is quick to mea­sure and only requires a mea­sured dis­tance and a stop­watch,” she point­ed out. “Slow­ing of more than 0.05 meters per sec­ond per year should trig­ger a more com­pre­hen­sive assessment.”

The Study:

Asso­ci­a­tion of Dual Decline in Cog­ni­tion and Gait Speed With Risk of Demen­tia in Old­er Adults (JAMA Net­work Open Geri­atrics). Key Points:

  • Ques­tion: Which cog­ni­tive mea­sure among glob­al cog­ni­tion, mem­o­ry, pro­cess­ing speed, and ver­bal flu­en­cy is most use­ful in assess­ing risk of future demen­tia when com­bined with gait decline?
  • Find­ings: In this cohort study of 16?855 rel­a­tive­ly healthy old­er peo­ple in Aus­tralia and the US, a dual decline in gait and cog­ni­tive func­tion com­pared with non­de­clin­ers was sig­nif­i­cant­ly asso­ci­at­ed with increased risk of demen­tia. This risk was high­est in those with both gait and mem­o­ry decline.
  • Mean­ing: These results high­light the impor­tance of gait in demen­tia risk assess­ment and sug­gest that dual decline in gait speed and a mem­o­ry mea­sure may be the best com­bi­na­tion to assess future dementia.

The Study in Context:

  • Explor­ing links between hear­ing loss, demen­tia and the ‘cog­ni­tive reserve’ — plus the role of hear­ing aids
  • Altoi­da rais­es fur­ther $14 mil­lion to “democ­ra­tize dig­i­tal cog­ni­tive assess­ment at scale”

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Print
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pock­et

Filed Under: Brain/ Mental Health Tagged With: brain, cognition, cognitive decline, cognitive measure, dementia prevention, diagnosis of dementia, failing memory, gait speed, memory-decline, pathology, risk of dementia, slowing gait

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Top Articles on Brain Health and Neuroplasticity

  1. Can you grow your hippocampus? Yes. Here’s how, and why it matters
  2. How learning changes your brain
  3. To harness neuroplasticity, start with enthusiasm
  4. Three ways to protect your mental health during –and after– COVID-19
  5. Why you turn down the radio when you're lost
  6. Solving the Brain Fitness Puzzle Is the Key to Self-Empowered Aging
  7. Ten neu­rotech­nolo­gies about to trans­form brain enhance­ment & health
  8. Five reasons the future of brain enhancement is digital, pervasive and (hopefully) bright
  9. What Educators and Parents Should Know About Neuroplasticity and Dance
  10. The Ten Habits of Highly Effective Brains
  11. Six tips to build resilience and prevent brain-damaging stress
  12. Can brain training work? Yes, if it meets these 5 conditions
  13. What are cognitive abilities and how to boost them?
  14. Eight Tips To Remember What You Read
  15. Twenty Must-Know Facts to Harness Neuroplasticity and Improve Brain Health

Top 10 Brain Teasers and Illusions

  1. You think you know the colors? Try the Stroop Test
  2. Check out this brief attention experiment
  3. Test your stress level
  4. Guess: Are there more brain connections or leaves in the Amazon?
  5. Quick brain teasers to flex two key men­tal mus­cles
  6. Count the Fs in this sentence
  7. Can you iden­tify Apple’s logo?
  8. Ten classic optical illu­sions to trick your mind
  9. What do you see?
  10. Fun Mental Rotation challenge
  • Check our Top 25 Brain Teasers, Games and Illusions

Join 35,341 readers exploring, at no cost, the latest in neuroplasticity and brain health.

By subscribing you agree to receive our free, monthly eNewsletter. We don't rent or sell emails collected, and you may unsubscribe at any time.

IMPORTANT: Please check your inbox or spam folder in a couple minutes and confirm your subscription.

Get In Touch!

Contact Us

660 4th Street, Suite 205,
San Francisco, CA 94107 USA

About Us

SharpBrains is an independent market research firm tracking health and performance applications of brain science. We prepare general and tailored market reports, publish consumer guides, produce an annual global and virtual conference, and provide strategic advisory services.

© 2022 SharpBrains. All Rights Reserved - Privacy Policy

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.