A study of eye movement during dual-task walking in elderly individuals.
Kazumasa Yamada, Iemasa Hayashi, Kenta Kunoh and 1 others
PMID 40171180WHAT IT FOUND
Elderly participants walking while doing mental math had larger vertical eye movements and walked slower with more steps.
Dual-task walking may reduce forward visual attention and shorten stride.
Key findings
01Vertical eye movement angle was larger during dual-task walking than during single-task walking (p=0.046) and than during control-task walking (p=0.051).
02Horizontal eye movement angle did not differ significantly between dual-task walking and the other tasks (p=0.082).
03During dual-task walking, 10 m walking time was longer and more steps were taken than during single-task or control-task walking (p=0.004 and p=0.002 for time; p=0.002 and p=0.001 for steps).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Only 15 healthy older adults were studied, and the authors state the results cannot be generalized to the community-dwelling elderly population. Participants had vision adequate for daily life, so the study does not address older adults with reduced vision. The eye-tracking device could not distinguish saccadic from smooth-pursuit eye movements, so the type of eye movement was not analysed. Height, leg length and body mass index were not collected, although the authors note these can influence walking ability. The study measured eye movement and walking time/steps, not fall events, so it does not show that dual-task walking caused falls.
Declared interests
This work was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science KAKENHI program (grant numbers JP16K01481, 20K11035, and 24K14073). The authors declare no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that this proves dual-task walking causes falls. The study measured eye movement and walking time/steps in 15 healthy older adults, not fall events, and the authors state the results cannot be generalized to community-dwelling elderly.