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Dual-Task Gait and Alzheimer's Disease Genetic Risk in Cognitively Normal Adults: A Pilot Study.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Whitson, HE; Potter, GG; Feld, JA; Plassman, BL; Reynolds, K; Sloane, R; Welsh-Bohmer, KA
Published in: J Alzheimers Dis
2018

BACKGROUND: Dual-task paradigms, in which an individual performs tasks separately and then concurrently, often demonstrate that people with neurodegenerative disorders experience more dual-task interference, defined as worse performance in the dual-task condition compared to the single-task condition. OBJECTIVE: To examine how gait-cognition dual-task performance differs between cognitively normal older adults with and without an APOE ɛ4 allele. METHODS: Twenty-nine individuals ages 60 to 72 with normal cognition completed a dual-task protocol in which walking and cognitive tasks (executive function, memory) were performed separately and concurrently. Fourteen participants carried APOE ɛ4 alleles (ɛ3/ɛ4 or ɛ2/ɛ4); fifteen had APOE genotypes (ɛ2/ɛ2, ɛ2/ɛ3, or ɛ3/ɛ3) associated with lower risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD). RESULTS: The two risk groups did not differ by age, sex, race, education, or gait or cognitive measures under single-task conditions. Compared to low risk participants, APOE ɛ4 carriers tended to exhibit greater dual-task interference. Both the memory and executive function tasks resulted in dual-task interference on gait, but effect sizes for a group difference were larger when the cognitive task was executive function. In the dual-task protocol that combined walking and the executive function task, effect sizes for group difference in gait interference were larger (0.62- 0.70) than for cognitive interference (0.45- 0.47). DISCUSSION: Dual-task paradigms may reveal subtle changes in brain function in asymptomatic individuals at heightened risk of AD.

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Published In

J Alzheimers Dis

DOI

EISSN

1875-8908

Publication Date

2018

Volume

64

Issue

4

Start / End Page

1137 / 1148

Location

Netherlands

Related Subject Headings

  • Task Performance and Analysis
  • Pilot Projects
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Neurology & Neurosurgery
  • Middle Aged
  • Memory
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Gait
  • Female
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Whitson, H. E., Potter, G. G., Feld, J. A., Plassman, B. L., Reynolds, K., Sloane, R., & Welsh-Bohmer, K. A. (2018). Dual-Task Gait and Alzheimer's Disease Genetic Risk in Cognitively Normal Adults: A Pilot Study. J Alzheimers Dis, 64(4), 1137–1148. https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-180016
Whitson, Heather E., Guy G. Potter, Jody A. Feld, Brenda L. Plassman, Kelly Reynolds, Richard Sloane, and Kathleen A. Welsh-Bohmer. “Dual-Task Gait and Alzheimer's Disease Genetic Risk in Cognitively Normal Adults: A Pilot Study.J Alzheimers Dis 64, no. 4 (2018): 1137–48. https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-180016.
Whitson HE, Potter GG, Feld JA, Plassman BL, Reynolds K, Sloane R, et al. Dual-Task Gait and Alzheimer's Disease Genetic Risk in Cognitively Normal Adults: A Pilot Study. J Alzheimers Dis. 2018;64(4):1137–48.
Whitson, Heather E., et al. “Dual-Task Gait and Alzheimer's Disease Genetic Risk in Cognitively Normal Adults: A Pilot Study.J Alzheimers Dis, vol. 64, no. 4, 2018, pp. 1137–48. Pubmed, doi:10.3233/JAD-180016.
Whitson HE, Potter GG, Feld JA, Plassman BL, Reynolds K, Sloane R, Welsh-Bohmer KA. Dual-Task Gait and Alzheimer's Disease Genetic Risk in Cognitively Normal Adults: A Pilot Study. J Alzheimers Dis. 2018;64(4):1137–1148.

Published In

J Alzheimers Dis

DOI

EISSN

1875-8908

Publication Date

2018

Volume

64

Issue

4

Start / End Page

1137 / 1148

Location

Netherlands

Related Subject Headings

  • Task Performance and Analysis
  • Pilot Projects
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Neurology & Neurosurgery
  • Middle Aged
  • Memory
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Gait
  • Female