Association of Gait Speed, Psychomotor Speed, and Dementia

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Kuate-Tegueu, Callixte^{a; *} | Avila-Funes, José-Alberto^{b; d} | Simo, Nadine^c | Le Goff, Mélanie^{d; e} | Amiéva, Hélène^{d; e} | Dartigues, Jean-François^{d; e} | Tabue-Teguo, Maturin^{c; d; e; f; *}

Affiliations: [a] Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, The University of Yaoundé I, Cameroon | [b] Department of Geriatrics, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Mexico City, Mexico | [c] Centre Hospitalier de Villeneuve/lot, France | [d] University Bordeaux, Inserm, Bordeaux Population Health Research Center, Bordeaux, France | [e] Bordeaux University, ISPED, Bordeaux, France | [f] CHU of Pointe-à-Pitre, French West Indies University (Guadeloupe)

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Maturin Tabue Teguo, MD, PhD, University Bordeaux, Inserm, Bordeaux Population Health Research Center, Team Psychoepidemiology of aging and chronic diseases, INSERM UMR 1219, F-33000 Bordeaux, France. E-mail: tabue.maturin@gmail.com. and Callixte Kuate Tegueu, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, The University of Yaoundé 1, Cameroon. E-mail: kuate.callixte@gmail.com.

Abstract: Background:Gait speed (GS) and psychomotor speed (PS) could be considered as two different dimensions of age-related slowness and both measures are associated with higher risk of adverse health-related outcomes among elderly people. Objective:To determine the association between GS, PS, and incident dementia among community-dwelling older adults. Methods:Twelve-year longitudinal study of 1,265 participants in the Bordeaux Three-City Study, a French prospective cohort designed to determine the risk of dementia and cognitive impairment attributable to cardiovascular risk factors. Participants completed a battery of cognitive tests, including time to complete the Trail Making Test A, and a walking speed test. The incidence of dementia was determined over the 12-year follow-up period. Cox proportional hazards models with delayed entry were used to estimate the cumulative risk of dementia and were adjusted for sex, education, and ApoE4 genotype. Results:Mean age of participants was 74.0 years (SD 4.8). Over the 12-year follow-up, 203 participants developed dementia. GS and PS were both independent predictors of incident all-cause dementia after 12 years of follow-up. For a one SD increase of either GS or PS, the hazard ratio (HR) for Alzheimer’s disease was 1.2 (95% CI = 1.02–1.32) and 1.4 (95% CI = 1.2–1.61), respectively; whereas for incident vascular dementia, the HR was 1.3 (95% CI = 1.05–1.71) and 1.5 (95% CI = 1.16–2.08), respectively. No significant interaction between GS and PS was observed. Conclusions:In older French people aged 65+, our findings showed that both low GS and PS were independently associated with risk of incident Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.

Keywords: Dementia, elderly, epidemiology, gait speed, psychomotor speed, vascular process

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-170267

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 60, no. 2, pp. 585-592, 2017