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Abstract
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OBJECTIVE: To examine whether falls are associated with longitudinal changes in different gait domains and onset of clinical gait abnormalities.
DESIGN: A longitudinal study SETTING: : General community PARTICIPANTS: : Ambulatory older adults free of dementia (n=428, M age 77.8±6.4 years) INTERVENTIONS: : Not applicable MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: : Gait was assessed with a computerized walkway. Pace, rhythm and variability (outcome measures) were derived from individual gait measures, using principal component analysis. Clinical gait abnormalities (neurological, non-neurological, mixed) were visually assessed by clinicians. Linear mixed effects models were used to examine the associations between falls (the exposure variable coded as none, singe and multiple) and changes in gait domains. Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine associations between falls and the onset of clinical gait abnormalities. Models were adjusted for sex, education, age, body mass index, number of comorbidities, gait speed at the first follow-up and time between the last fall and the first follow-up gait assessment.
RESULTS: Pace declined while rhythm and variability increased at a faster rate (p<0.05), among 32 participants with multiple falls in the first year of follow-up compared to 299 participants with no falls. Risk for clinical gait abnormalities between those with no falls, single or multiple falls was not different.
CONCLUSIONS: Multiple falls predict future gait decline in multiple domains in aging. Interventions to prevent gait decline following multiple falls should be investigated.
Language: en |