Abstract
Introduction
Physical and cognitive decline at an older age is preceded by changes that accumulate over time until they become clinically evident difficulties. These changes, frequently overlooked by patients and health professionals, may respond better than fully established conditions to strategies designed to prevent disabilities and dependence in later life. The objective of this study was twofold: to provide further support for the need to screen for early functional changes in older adults and to look for an early association between decline in mobility and cognition.
Methods
A cross-sectional cohort study was conducted on 95 active functionally independent community-dwelling older adults in Havana, Cuba. We measured their gait speed at the usual pace and their cognitive status using the MMSE. A value of 0.8 m/s was used as the cut-off point to decide whether they presented a decline in gait speed. A quantitative analysis of their EEG at rest was also performed to look for an associated subclinical decline in brain function.
Results
Results show that 70% of the sample had a gait speed deterioration (i.e., lower than 0.8 m/s), of which 80% also had an abnormal EEG frequency composition for their age. While there was no statistically significant difference in the MMSE score between participants with a gait speed above and below the selected cut-off, individuals with MMSE scores below 25 also had a gait speed < 0.8 m/s and an abnormal EEG frequency composition.
Conclusions
Our results provide further evidence of early decline in older adults – even if still independent and active - and point to the need for clinical pathways that incorporate screening and early intervention targeted at early deterioration to prolong the years of functional life in older age.
Comments
Use of EEG
Hi, interesting research. I am not expert to understand EEG findings but wondering whether the EEGs were performed purely for research, or was there a clinical reason to perform EEG? Thanks, Dr Kristen Pearson
On the use of EEEG
Hi!, thank you for your comment. The EEG recording was done as part of the study. However, it was a clinical routine EEG as the one routinely employed in the clinical practice (ie, short recording at rest, with the standard recording derivations, same activation procedures consisting in opening and closing eyes). Quantitative analysis, as the one conducted by us, is commercially available in some clinical EEG systems.
On the use of EEEG
Hi!, thank you for your comment. The EEG recording was done as part of the study - no clinical reason. However, it was the same type of recordings as the one routinely employed in the clinical practice (ie, short recording at rest, with the standard recording derivations, same activation procedures consisting in opening and closing eyes). Quantitative analysis, as the one conducted by us, is commercially available in some clinical EEG systems.