Presymptomatic Profiles of Cognitive Impairment with Prior Mobility Impairment.
Qu Tian, Yang An, Susan M Resnick and 1 others
PMID 38307123WHAT IT FOUND
Older adults who later developed cognitive impairment and had prior slow gait showed lower psychomotor speed and manual dexterity seven years before symptoms.
They also had higher BMI, blood pressure, and insulin resistance. These profiles suggest metabolic and motor pathways rather than memory decline precede dementia.
Key findings
01Seven years before cognitive symptom onset, those with prior slow gait had lower scores on tests of psychomotor speed and manual dexterity compared to those with normal gait.
02Participants with prior slow gait exhibited an unfavorable metabolic profile seven years before onset, including higher BMI, waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, and insulin resistance.
03There were no cross-sectional differences in global mental state, verbal memory, attention, executive function, or visuospatial ability between the groups before symptom onset.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study population from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging was healthier than the general aging population, which limited the sample size and statistical power. The group with slow gait was older at the time of assessment and at symptom onset, which may have influenced the observed associations despite statistical adjustments. The study was exploratory with multiple comparisons, and some biomarker differences were attenuated after adjusting for health behaviors and disease burden. Results may not generalize to individuals with significant chronic diseases or functional limitations at baseline, as these were excluded from the original cohort.
Declared interests
None declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the lack of differences in memory and executive function as evidence that cognitive decline is absent. The study found that motor-related cognitive deficits and metabolic abnormalities preceded symptoms by seven years, suggesting a specific pathway that standard memory screens might miss in patients with mobility issues.