This physical characteristic could be a sign of dementia: study

A slower walking pace could be a sign of cognitive decline or dementia, a new study suggests.Researchers assessed more than 16,800 healthy people over the age of 65 in the U.S.and Australia during a seven-year period (2010 to 2017), according to the published study in JAMA Network Open.The investigators measured participants’ walking speed and performed cognitive tests every two years.Those who demonstrated a decrease in walking speed by at least 2 inches per second a year — along with slower cognitive ability — had a higher risk of dementia, as compared to individuals considered to be “non-decliners, cognitive-only decliners or gait-only decliners,” according to the report.“The combination of declining memory and slowing gait seems to be a stronger indicator of future dementia risk than decline in one of those things alone,” Dr.

Taya A.Collyer, PhD, who led the study out of Monash University in Australia, told Fox News Digital.Family members often comment that their loved one had changed prior to a dementia diagnosis, according to Dr.

Amy Brodtmann, a neurologist and professor of the Cognitive Health Initiative at Monash University in Australia.“There has long been an assumption that a slowdown – of walking, thinking and actions – is a sign not just of aging, but of developing cognitive impairment and dementia,” she told Fox News Digital.The researchers suggested that measurement of walking speeds could be a useful tool – combined with other screening measures – to help identify individuals who are at risk of developing dementia and ensure that they receive early testing and preventive interventions. “We don’t yet have a definitive test for dementia that family doctors can do in their own clinics,” noted Brodtmann, one of the co-authors of the study.Walking speed is very “simple to measure,” Collyer added. “Our study also suggests that family doctors might keep an eye on walking speed when they (or their patients) have ...