Frail elderly patients with dementia go too fast

The reason why patients with dementia fall more often and sustain more fractures than patients without dementia remains unclear. Therefore, the relationship between dementia and gait velocity as a marker for mobility and falls in a cohort of frail elderly (mean age of 77.3 years) inpatients was asse...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of neurology, neurosurgery and psychiatry neurosurgery and psychiatry, 2006-07, Vol.77 (7), p.874-876
Main Authors: van Iersel, M B, Verbeek, A L M, Bloem, B R, Munneke, M, Esselink, R A J, Olde Rikkert, M G M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accidental Falls
Activities of daily living
Aged
Biological and medical sciences
Biomechanical Phenomena
Cohort Studies
Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases
Dementia
Dementia - complications
Female
Frail Elderly
Frailty
Gait Disorders, Neurologic - complications
Gait Disorders, Neurologic - epidemiology
Gait Disorders, Neurologic - etiology
Humans
Incidence
Male
Medical sciences
Multiple sclerosis and variants. Guillain barré syndrome and other inflammatory polyneuropathies. Leukoencephalitis
Neurology
Regression analysis
Risk Factors
Short Report
Studies
Velocity
Walking
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Summary:The reason why patients with dementia fall more often and sustain more fractures than patients without dementia remains unclear. Therefore, the relationship between dementia and gait velocity as a marker for mobility and falls in a cohort of frail elderly (mean age of 77.3 years) inpatients was assessed. Patients with dementia were expected to walk slower than patients without dementia. A trend was indeed observed: absolute gait velocity of 0.59 m/s in patients with dementia (n = 63) versus 0.65 m/s in patients without dementia (n = 62; p = 0.19). After adjustment for parkinsonism and walking aids, however, patients with dementia walked 0.44 m/s faster than patients without dementia (p = 0.02). Probable explanations are frontal lobe disinhibition and lack of insight, causing patients with dementia to walk relatively too fast in the context of their frailty. Therefore, the high risk of falls in dementia may be partially explained by the loss of control of gait velocity.
ISSN:0022-3050
1468-330X
DOI:10.1136/jnnp.2005.084418