Walking more slowly can be a sign of impending dementia, scientists find

Walking more slowly as you get older could be a sign that you’re at risk of developing dementia.

That’s the key finding from a major Australian and US study of more than 16,800 older people, which showed a decline in both walking speed and cognition are strong predictors of a dementia diagnosis later on. Read the full SMH article here.

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The article refers to research published in the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Medical Association “Association of Dual Decline in Cognition and Gait Speed With Risk of Dementia in Older Adults“. This study can be accessed here.

ANZSGM member Professor Velandai Srikanth, is one of the study authors. He is a Melbourne-based Specialist Geriatrician at Peninsula Health,  Professor of Medicine at Monash University, and the Director of the National Centre for Healthy Ageing. His particular area of interest is in the study of the ageing brain using cohort and twin study designs.