On 8 January, a team of Swedish and Italian scientists published an article on cognitive and physical markers of prodromal dementia in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia. The study draws on the Swedish SNAC-K study, including data on 2546 people who underwent a series of tests.
The researchers grouped these people into one of four profiles:
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healthy
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cognitive impairment, no dementia
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slow walking speed
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cognitive impairment, slow walking speed.
In order to find out whether the assessment of walking speed helps to find out whether a person is at a higher risk of developing dementia, the researchers then looked at the results from a follow-up assessment. Out of the 2546 initial participants, 193 had developed dementia after 4 to 12 years, with an additional 117 cases of people who had developed dementia and died. The statistical analyses of the team suggested that especially those people who experienced cognitive impairments as well as slow walking speed at the initial assessment, were at the highest likelihood to develop dementia in future. The team therefore concluded that adding a measurement of physical function (in this case walking speed) to standard cognitive test batteries is advisable to help clinicians identify people who are at a higher risk of developing dementia.
https://alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/alz.12002
