A combined drop in both walking speed and cognitive function was tied to an increased risk of dementia, a study of nearly 17,000 older adults showed.
Dual decline in gait speed and cognition carried a higher risk of dementia than either gait-only decline or cognitive-only decline, reported Taya Collyer, PhD, of Monash University in Victoria, Australia, and co-authors, in JAMA Network Openopens in a new tab or window.
Dementia risk was highest in people who had slower gait speeds coupled with lower memory scores over time.
"Slowing gait and failing memory may be the best combination of clinical measures to identify people at risk of future dementia," co-author Michele Callisaya, PhD, of the National Center for Healthy Aging at Monash University and Peninsula Health, told MedPage Today.