Slow walking speed in elderly may signal dementia risk

London March 25 (IANS) Older adults with slower walking speeds seem to have a greater risk of dementia than those with faster walking speeds researchers have found.

The findings led by Ruth A. Hackett from the University College London showed that people who experienced a faster decline in walking speed over a two-year period were also at higher risk for dementia.

People who had a poorer ability to think and make decisions and those whose cognitive (thinking) abilities declined more quickly were also more likely to be diagnosed with dementia.

As of 2015 nearly 47 million people around the world had dementia a memory problem significant enough to affect your ability to carry out your usual tasks.

The most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer s disease but other forms exist too.

For the study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society an international team of researchers included nearly 4 000 older adults aged 60 and above to learn more about changes in walking speed changes in the ability to think and make decisions and dementia.

They assessed participants walking speed on two occasions in 2002-2003 and in 2004-2005 and whether or not the participants developed dementia after the tests from 2006-2015. Then they compared the people who had developed dementia with those who had not.

However changes in walking speed and changes in an older adult s ability to think and make decisions do not necessarily work together to affect the risk of developing dementia the researchers noted.

--IANS
rt/ksk