Walking speed, cognitive function and dementia risk in the English Longitudinal Study
Background: Physical and cognitive function decline with age. Slow walking speed has been associated with negative health outcomes and dementia is often preceded by cognitive decline. This study investigated walking speed, cognitive function and the interaction between changes in these measures in r...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2018
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49458/ |
| _version_ | 1848798000772546560 |
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| author | Hackett, Ruth A. Davies, Hilary Cadar, Dorina Orrell, Martin Steptoe, Andrew |
| author_facet | Hackett, Ruth A. Davies, Hilary Cadar, Dorina Orrell, Martin Steptoe, Andrew |
| author_sort | Hackett, Ruth A. |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Background: Physical and cognitive function decline with age. Slow walking speed has been associated with negative health outcomes and dementia is often preceded by cognitive decline. This study investigated walking speed, cognitive function and the interaction between changes in these measures in relation to dementia risk.
Method: Walking speed and cognition were assessed in 3,932 individuals aged ≥60 years at wave 1 (2002-03) and 2 (2004-05) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. New dementia cases were assessed from wave 3 (2006-07) to wave 7 (2014-15). The associations were modelled using Cox proportional hazards regression.
Results: Participants with faster baseline walking speeds (HR 0.36; 95% CI 0.22 - 0.60) had a decreased risk of dementia. Those who had a greater decline in walking speed (waves 1 - 2 (HR 1.23; 95% CI 1.03 - 1.47) had an increased dementia risk. Participants with greater baseline cognition (HR 0.42; 95% CI 0.34 - 0.54) had a reduced dementia risk. Those who had a greater decline in cognition (waves 1-2) had a greater risk of dementia (HR 1.78; 95% CI 36 1.53 - 2.06). Change in walking speed and change in cognition did not interact significantly in relation to dementia risk (HR 1.01; 95% CI 0.88 – 1.17).
Conclusions: In this community-dwelling sample of English adults those with slower walking speeds and a greater decline in speed over time had an increased risk of developing dementia independent of changes in cognition. Further research is required to understand the mechanisms that may drive these associations. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:12:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-49458 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:12:49Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-494582018-10-12T10:52:22Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49458/ Walking speed, cognitive function and dementia risk in the English Longitudinal Study Hackett, Ruth A. Davies, Hilary Cadar, Dorina Orrell, Martin Steptoe, Andrew Background: Physical and cognitive function decline with age. Slow walking speed has been associated with negative health outcomes and dementia is often preceded by cognitive decline. This study investigated walking speed, cognitive function and the interaction between changes in these measures in relation to dementia risk. Method: Walking speed and cognition were assessed in 3,932 individuals aged ≥60 years at wave 1 (2002-03) and 2 (2004-05) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. New dementia cases were assessed from wave 3 (2006-07) to wave 7 (2014-15). The associations were modelled using Cox proportional hazards regression. Results: Participants with faster baseline walking speeds (HR 0.36; 95% CI 0.22 - 0.60) had a decreased risk of dementia. Those who had a greater decline in walking speed (waves 1 - 2 (HR 1.23; 95% CI 1.03 - 1.47) had an increased dementia risk. Participants with greater baseline cognition (HR 0.42; 95% CI 0.34 - 0.54) had a reduced dementia risk. Those who had a greater decline in cognition (waves 1-2) had a greater risk of dementia (HR 1.78; 95% CI 36 1.53 - 2.06). Change in walking speed and change in cognition did not interact significantly in relation to dementia risk (HR 1.01; 95% CI 0.88 – 1.17). Conclusions: In this community-dwelling sample of English adults those with slower walking speeds and a greater decline in speed over time had an increased risk of developing dementia independent of changes in cognition. Further research is required to understand the mechanisms that may drive these associations. Wiley 2018-09-30 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en cc_by https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49458/43/Hackett_et_al-2018-Journal_of_the_American_Geriatrics_Society.pdf Hackett, Ruth A., Davies, Hilary, Cadar, Dorina, Orrell, Martin and Steptoe, Andrew (2018) Walking speed, cognitive function and dementia risk in the English Longitudinal Study. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 66 (9). pp. 1670-1675. ISSN 1532-5415 Gait speed; Cognition; Dementia http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jgs.15312/abstract doi:10.1111/jgs.15312 doi:10.1111/jgs.15312 |
| spellingShingle | Gait speed; Cognition; Dementia Hackett, Ruth A. Davies, Hilary Cadar, Dorina Orrell, Martin Steptoe, Andrew Walking speed, cognitive function and dementia risk in the English Longitudinal Study |
| title | Walking speed, cognitive function and dementia risk in the English Longitudinal Study |
| title_full | Walking speed, cognitive function and dementia risk in the English Longitudinal Study |
| title_fullStr | Walking speed, cognitive function and dementia risk in the English Longitudinal Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Walking speed, cognitive function and dementia risk in the English Longitudinal Study |
| title_short | Walking speed, cognitive function and dementia risk in the English Longitudinal Study |
| title_sort | walking speed, cognitive function and dementia risk in the english longitudinal study |
| topic | Gait speed; Cognition; Dementia |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49458/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49458/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49458/ |