Age-related changes in mobility assessments correlate with repetitive goal-directed arm-movement performance
Abstract Background There is ample evidence that mobility abilities between healthy young and elderly people differ. However, we do not know whether these differences are based on different lower leg motor capacity or instead reveal a general motor condition that could be detected by monitoring uppe...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2023-08-01
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| Series: | BMC Geriatrics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-023-04150-3 |
| _version_ | 1797556552973942784 |
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| author | Isabelle Daniela Walz Sarah Waibel Andreas Kuhner Albert Gollhofer Christoph Maurer |
| author_facet | Isabelle Daniela Walz Sarah Waibel Andreas Kuhner Albert Gollhofer Christoph Maurer |
| author_sort | Isabelle Daniela Walz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background There is ample evidence that mobility abilities between healthy young and elderly people differ. However, we do not know whether these differences are based on different lower leg motor capacity or instead reveal a general motor condition that could be detected by monitoring upper-limb motor behavior. We therefore captured body movements during a standard mobility task, namely the Timed Up and Go test (TUG) with subjects following different instructions while performing a rapid, repetitive goal-directed arm-movement test (arm-movement test). We hypothesized that we would be able to predict gait-related parameters from arm motor behavior, even regardless of age. Methods Sixty healthy individuals were assigned to three groups (young: mean 26 ± 3 years, middle-aged 48 ± 9, old 68 ± 7). They performed the arm-movement and TUG test under three conditions: preferred (at preferred movement speed), dual-task (while counting backwards), and fast (at fast movement speed). We recorded the number of contacts within 20 s and the TUG duration. We also extracted TUG walking sequences to analyze spatiotemporal gait parameters and evaluated the correlation between arm-movement and TUG results. Results The TUG condition at preferred speed revealed differences in gait speed and step length only between young and old, while dual-task and fast execution increased performance differences significantly among all 3 groups. Our old group’s gait speed decreased the most doing the dual-task, while the young group’s gait speed increased the most during the fast condition. As in our TUG results, arm-movements were significant faster in young than in middle-aged and old. We observed significant correlations between arm movements and the fast TUG condition, and that the number of contacts closely predicts TUG timefast and gait speedfast. This prediction is more accurate when including age. Conclusion We found that the age-related decline in mobility performance that TUG reveals strongly depends on the test instruction: the dual-task and fast condition clearly strengthened group contrasts. Interestingly, a fast TUG performance was predictable by the performance in a fast repetitive goal-directed arm-movements test, even beyond the age effect. We assume that arm movements and the fast TUG condition reflect similarly reduced motor function. Trial registration German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS) number: DRKS00016999, prospectively registered on March, 26, 2019. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:03:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0dc3c93e578d48e0a71d59b1720aacb2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2318 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:03:33Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Geriatrics |
| spelling | doaj.art-0dc3c93e578d48e0a71d59b1720aacb22023-11-20T10:51:48ZengBMCBMC Geriatrics1471-23182023-08-0123111210.1186/s12877-023-04150-3Age-related changes in mobility assessments correlate with repetitive goal-directed arm-movement performanceIsabelle Daniela Walz0Sarah Waibel1Andreas Kuhner2Albert Gollhofer3Christoph Maurer4Department of Neurology and Neuroscience, Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of FreiburgDepartment of Neurology and Neuroscience, Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of FreiburgDepartment of Computer Science, University of FreiburgDepartment of Sports and Sport Science, University of FreiburgDepartment of Neurology and Neuroscience, Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of FreiburgAbstract Background There is ample evidence that mobility abilities between healthy young and elderly people differ. However, we do not know whether these differences are based on different lower leg motor capacity or instead reveal a general motor condition that could be detected by monitoring upper-limb motor behavior. We therefore captured body movements during a standard mobility task, namely the Timed Up and Go test (TUG) with subjects following different instructions while performing a rapid, repetitive goal-directed arm-movement test (arm-movement test). We hypothesized that we would be able to predict gait-related parameters from arm motor behavior, even regardless of age. Methods Sixty healthy individuals were assigned to three groups (young: mean 26 ± 3 years, middle-aged 48 ± 9, old 68 ± 7). They performed the arm-movement and TUG test under three conditions: preferred (at preferred movement speed), dual-task (while counting backwards), and fast (at fast movement speed). We recorded the number of contacts within 20 s and the TUG duration. We also extracted TUG walking sequences to analyze spatiotemporal gait parameters and evaluated the correlation between arm-movement and TUG results. Results The TUG condition at preferred speed revealed differences in gait speed and step length only between young and old, while dual-task and fast execution increased performance differences significantly among all 3 groups. Our old group’s gait speed decreased the most doing the dual-task, while the young group’s gait speed increased the most during the fast condition. As in our TUG results, arm-movements were significant faster in young than in middle-aged and old. We observed significant correlations between arm movements and the fast TUG condition, and that the number of contacts closely predicts TUG timefast and gait speedfast. This prediction is more accurate when including age. Conclusion We found that the age-related decline in mobility performance that TUG reveals strongly depends on the test instruction: the dual-task and fast condition clearly strengthened group contrasts. Interestingly, a fast TUG performance was predictable by the performance in a fast repetitive goal-directed arm-movements test, even beyond the age effect. We assume that arm movements and the fast TUG condition reflect similarly reduced motor function. Trial registration German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS) number: DRKS00016999, prospectively registered on March, 26, 2019.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-023-04150-3Instrumented Timed Up and Go testGait speedDual-taskFast gait speedFast repetitive targeted arm-movement |
| spellingShingle | Isabelle Daniela Walz Sarah Waibel Andreas Kuhner Albert Gollhofer Christoph Maurer Age-related changes in mobility assessments correlate with repetitive goal-directed arm-movement performance BMC Geriatrics Instrumented Timed Up and Go test Gait speed Dual-task Fast gait speed Fast repetitive targeted arm-movement |
| title | Age-related changes in mobility assessments correlate with repetitive goal-directed arm-movement performance |
| title_full | Age-related changes in mobility assessments correlate with repetitive goal-directed arm-movement performance |
| title_fullStr | Age-related changes in mobility assessments correlate with repetitive goal-directed arm-movement performance |
| title_full_unstemmed | Age-related changes in mobility assessments correlate with repetitive goal-directed arm-movement performance |
| title_short | Age-related changes in mobility assessments correlate with repetitive goal-directed arm-movement performance |
| title_sort | age related changes in mobility assessments correlate with repetitive goal directed arm movement performance |
| topic | Instrumented Timed Up and Go test Gait speed Dual-task Fast gait speed Fast repetitive targeted arm-movement |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-023-04150-3 |
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