NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Stronger cognitive skills are predictive of gait velocity in elderly subjects, according to findings published in the March issue of Neuropsychology.

Dr. Roee Holtzer, of Yeshiva University in the Bronx and colleagues examined whether general (verbal IQ) and specific (speed/executive attention) cognitive factors and memory predict gait velocity in a cross-sectional study of 186 cognitively normal adults at least 70 years of age. The researchers tested the subjects' gait speed with or without a secondary verbal distraction -- walking while reciting alternate letters of the alphabet.

Gait performance tested without interference was predicted by performance on cognitive tests of executive control and memory. Verbal ability also predicted gait velocity tested without interference, but to a lesser extent. Only executive control and memory predicted gait performance tested with interference.

Gait velocity tested with interference is more representative of walking in public, in which walkers constantly deal with distraction, the investigators note. This suggests that executive control and memory function are important when subjects walk in a busy environment.

"These findings suggest that in old age, walking involves higher-order executive-control processes," the authors write in a press release. "That is, the intersecting cognitive and motor processes involved in walking may both rely on a common brain substrate, or set of structures," they explain. "As a result, changes in that substrate would affect both cognition and gait."

Slow gait is a significant risk factor for falls among the elderly, the investigators conclude. The findings may help explain why cognitive problems or dementia are often associated with falls in older adults.

Neuropsychology 2006;20:215-223

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