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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Rosie Morris, Dr Susan Lord, Dr Rachael LawsonORCiD, Dr Shirley ColemanORCiD, Dr Brook Galna, Dr Gordon Duncan, Dr Tien Kheng Khoo, Professor Alison Yarnall, Professor David BurnORCiD, Professor Lynn RochesterORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Background:Dementia is significant in Parkinson’s disease (PD) with personal and socioeconomic impact. Early identification of risk is of upmost importance to optimize management. Gait precedes and predicts cognitive decline and dementia in older adults. We aimed to evaluate gait characteristics as predictors of cognitive decline in newly diagnosed PD.Methods:One hundred and nineteen participants recruited at diagnosis were assessed at baseline, 18 and 36 months. Baseline gait was characterized by variables that mapped to five domains: pace, rhythm, variability, asymmetry, and postural control. Cognitive assessment included attention, fluctuating attention, executive function, visual memory, and visuospatial function. Mixed-effects models tested independent gait predictors of cognitive decline.Results:Gait characteristics of pace, variability, and postural control predicted decline in fluctuating attention and visual memory, whereas baseline neuropsychological assessment performance did not predict decline.Conclusions:This provides novel evidence for gait as a clinical biomarker for PD cognitive decline in early disease.
Author(s): Morris R, Lord S, Lawson RA, Coleman S, Galna B, Duncan GW, Khoo TK, Yarnall AJ, Burn DJ, Rochester L
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Journal of Gerontology: Series A
Year: 2017
Volume: 72
Issue: 12
Pages: 1656-1662
Print publication date: 09/11/2017
Online publication date: 03/05/2017
Acceptance date: 07/04/2017
Date deposited: 30/05/2017
ISSN (print): 1079-5006
ISSN (electronic): 1758-535X
Publisher: Oxford University Press
URL: https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glx071
DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glx071
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