Age and beta amyloid deposition impact gait speed, stride length, and gait smoothness while transitioning from an even to an uneven walking surface in older adults

Background

Capturing a measure of movement quality during a complex walking task may indicate the earliest signs of detrimental changes to the brain due to beta amyloid (Aβ) deposition and be a potential differentiator of older adults at elevated and low risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. This study aimed to determine: 1) age-related differences in gait speed, stride length, and gait smoothness while transitioning from an even to an uneven walking surface, by comparing young adults (YA) and older adults (OA), and 2) if gait speed, stride length, and gait smoothness in OA while transitioning from an even to an uneven walking surface is influenced by the amount of Aβ deposition present in an OA's brain.

Methods

Participants included 56 OA (>70 years of age) and 29 YA (25–35 years of age). In OA, Aβ deposition in the brain was quantified by PET imaging. All participants completed a series of cognitive assessments, a functional mobility assessment, and self-report questionnaires. Then participants performed two sets of walking trials on a custom-built walkway containing a mixture of even and uneven surface sections, including three trials with a grass uneven surface and three trials with a rocks uneven surface. Gait data were recorded using a wireless inertial measurement unit system. Stride length, gait speed, and gait smoothness (i.e., log dimensionless lumbar jerk) in the anteroposterior (AP), mediolateral (ML), and vertical (VT) directions were calculated for each stride. Outcomes were retained for five stride locations immediately surrounding the surface transition.

Results

OA exhibited slower gait (Grass: p < 0.001; Rocks: p = 0.006), shorter strides (Grass: p < 0.001; Rocks: p = 0.008), and smoother gait (Grass AP: p < 0.001; Rocks AP: p = 0.002; Rocks ML: p = 0.02) than YA, but they also exhibited greater reductions in gait speed and stride length than YA while transitioning to the uneven grass and rocks surfaces. Within the OA group, those with greater Aβ deposition exhibited decreases in smoothness with age (Grass AP: p = 0.02; Rocks AP: p = 0.03; Grass ML: p = 0.04; Rocks ML: p = 0.03), while those with lower Aβ deposition exhibited increasing smoothness with age (Grass AP: p = 0.01; Rocks AP: p = 0.02; Grass ML: p = 0.08; Rocks ML: p = 0.07). Better functional mobility was associated with less smooth gait (Grass ML: p = 0.02; Rocks ML: p = 0.05) and with less variable gait smoothness (Grass and Rocks AP: both p = 0.04) in the OA group.

Conclusion

These results suggest that, relative to YA, OA may be adopting more cautious, compensatory gait strategies to maintain smoothness when approaching surface transitions. However, OA with greater Aβ deposition may have limited ability to adopt compensatory gait strategies to increase the smoothness of their walking as they get older because of neuropathological changes altering the sensory integration process and causing worse dynamic balance (i.e., jerkier gait). Functional mobility, in addition to age and Aβ deposition, may be an important factor of whether or not an OA chooses to employ compensatory strategies to prioritize smoothness while walking and what type of compensatory strategy an OA chooses.