Critical spatiotemporal gait parameters for individuals with dementia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Rita Chiaramonte, Matteo Cioni
PMID 34054252WHAT IT FOUND
People with dementia walked slower, had shorter stride length, and showed more variability in stride time than healthy older adults, both alone and while doing another task.
Speed and stride time variability were among the clearest differences.
Key findings
01During single-task comfortable walking, speed, cadence, stride length, stride time, stance time, stride time variability, and stride length variability significantly discriminated people with dementia from healthy controls.
02During dual-task walking, stride time variability and stride length significantly discriminated people with dementia from healthy controls.
03Gait speed significantly discriminated people with dementia from healthy controls during both single-task and dual-task walking.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only nine studies were pooled, and several samples were small. The studies used different gait devices and measured different parameters, so findings were strongest for speed and less consistent for parameters reported in fewer studies. Heterogeneity was high, with I2 between 86.93 and 88.91%, so the studies did not agree closely. The included studies were observational comparisons with healthy controls. They did not test whether gait analysis predicts falls or whether a rehabilitation programme changes gait. Important factors that can affect walking, such as other neurological disease, comorbidities, medications, prostheses, and education, were not consistently reported. Dual-task studies used different cognitive tasks, so it is unclear which task is most sensitive.
Declared interests
The authors declared no relevant conflicts of interest and reported no specific funding.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these gait differences as a diagnosis of dementia or as proof that a rehabilitation programme works. The review compared groups and did not test an intervention, and the included studies were highly heterogeneous.