Poor gait and weak grip could be early sign of dementia

Walking speed and grip strength could be early indicators of dementia before the onset of noticeable symptoms, a Monash University study reveals.

Researchers found slow walking speed combined with weak hand grip was a stronger predictor of cognitive decline and dementia in older adults than either measure alone.

The study of data from more than 18,000 initially healthy adults, mostly aged 70 and older in the ASPREE trial, revealed that a combined poor gait speed and grip strength was linked to a 79% increased risk of dementia and a 43% increased risk of cognitive decline.

Over time, the risk for dementia or cognitive decline was shown to be highest when gait and grip declined simultaneously over the study period of nearly five years, with an 89% increased risk of dementia and 55% increased risk of cognitive decline.

During the course of the ASPREE trial, 2773 participants in this analysis developed cognitive decline and 558 developed dementia. Participants’ grip strength and gait speed were measured upon entry to ASPREE and repeated during an average of 4.7 years. Researchers accounted for age, gender, education, ethnicity/race, starting cognitive level, depression, smoking, alcohol, living situation and diabetes.

Gait speed was timed walking at normal pace over a distance of three metres, while grip strength was assessed using a hand-held device to measure force. Researchers then compared these physical benchmarks against participants’ cognition, measured using assessments that examine functions such as memory and processing speed.

The findings have significant implications for dementia diagnosis, early intervention and treatment. Globally, the number of people living with dementia is expected to almost triple in three decades, from 57.4 million in 2019, to 152.8 million by 2050.

Lead author Dr Suzanne Orchard, a Senior Research Fellow with Monash University’s School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, said, “While there are currently no cures for dementia, if identified early, treatment strategies can be implemented to slow its progression and manage the symptoms.”

She suggested simple grip strength and gait speed assessments could be adopted by GPs and other healthcare providers to help identify dementia risk early and establish treatment pathways to improve patient outcomes.

Image credit: iStockphoto.com/BanksPhotos