Low or Declining Gait Speed is Associated With Risk of Developing Dementia Over 5 Years Among People Aged 85 Years and Over

Improving dementia screening procedures beyond simple assessment of current cognitive performance is timely given the ongoing phenomenon of population aging. A slow or declining gait speed (GS) is a potential early indicator of cognitive decline scarcely investigated in very old people. Here, we investigated the 5-year associations of baseline GS, change in GS, and cognitive function with subsequent dementia development in people aged 85 years and older (n = 296) without dementia at baseline. Declining and a slow baseline GS were associated with higher odds of dementia development after adjusting for confounders (e.g., age, sex, and dependency in activities of daily living) and missing GS values at follow-up. The GS decline was associated with cognitive decline in participants who developed dementia. The results support the potential of GS tests to predict future cognitive decline among community- and nursing home-dwelling very old people.

Automated summary

Beyond simple cognitive performance assessment, improving dementia screening procedures is timely given the ongoing phenomenon of population aging. A slow or declining gait speed is a potential early indicator of cognitive decline in very old people. This study found that declining and slow gait speed were associated with higher odds of dementia development, and gait decline was linked to cognitive decline in participants who developed dementia, supporting the potential of gait speed tests to predict future cognitive decline among very old people in community and nursing home settings.