The decline in the ability to walk and talk at the same time can be an early indicator of accelerated brain aging and this decline would begin from the age of 55.
- Dual-task walking performance may be an early indicator of accelerated brain aging, according to the Harvard Medical School and Hebrew SeniorLife study.
- The ability to perform two tasks when walking begins to decline at age 55.
- A two-task walking test could thus reveal early changes in brain function.
Walking is, in itself, quite instinctive. And yet, it is a complex task… even more so if other actions are added to it, such as speaking, reading signs or finding one’s way. The performance of this “dual task” decline with age, which can cause instability. Researchers from Harvard Medical School and Hebrew SeniorLife wanted to determine more precisely at what age walking and talking at the same time become complicated. Their work has been published in the journal Lancet Healthy Longevity in March 2023.
Walking and talking at the same time become complex from the age of 55
To answer his question, the team gathered the files of 996 people aged 40 to 64 recruited between May 5, 2018 and July 7, 2020. In addition, 640 of them completed gait and their cognitive abilities.
“We observed that the ability to walk in normal, calm conditions remained relatively stable in this age group (40 to 64 years old, editor’s note). However, even in this relatively healthy cohort, when we asked participants to walk and perform a mental arithmetic task at the same time, we were able to observe subtle but important changes in gait from the middle of the sixth decade of life.adds first author Junhong Zhou of Hebrew SeniorLife in a communicated.
Scientists have established that the ability to perform another task while moving begins to decline at age 55, while the general consensus was for age 65 before the study. Moreover, this decrease in the ability to walk and talk at the same time was found to be caused by changes in cognition, not changes in physical function as thought by health professionals.
However, the authors point out that although they observed that dual-task walking abilities tended to decline with age, not all participants fit this description.
“We observed a portion of participants over 60 who performed the dual task test as well as participants 50 or even younger. This means that dual task walking performance does not necessarily reduce as we age and that some people seem more resistant to the effects of aging”says the specialist.
Dual-task walking test could assess brain aging
Researcher Junhong Zhou points out: “Our results suggest that in mid-fifties, poor dual-task walking performance may be an indicator of accelerated brain aging or another presymptomatic neurodegenerative condition”.
Thus, he suggests that a two-task walking test could reveal early age-related changes in brain function, and by domino effect the increased risks of dementia.
“Compared to silent walking, walking under dual-task conditions adds stress to the motor control system, as the two tasks have to compete for shared resources in the brain. What we think is that the ability managing this stress and adequately maintaining performance in both tasks is an essential brain function that tends to decline with age.Our study is important because it found that changes in this type of brain resilience occur much earlier than previously thought”he concludes.
