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. 2019 May 23;16(10):1835.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph16101835.

How Older Adults Cope with Cognitive Complexity and Environmental Constraints during Dual-Task Walking: The Role of Executive Function Involvement

Roberta Forte  1 , Caterina Pesce  2 , Angela Di Baldassarre  3 , John Shea  4 , Claudia Voelcker-Rehage  5 , Laura Capranica  6 , Giancarlo Condello  7
Affiliations

How Older Adults Cope with Cognitive Complexity and Environmental Constraints during Dual-Task Walking: The Role of Executive Function Involvement

Roberta Forte et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

This cross-sectional study investigated the interactive dual-task (DT) effects of executive function demands and environmental constraints on older adults' walking and the moderating role of habitual physical activity (PA). Locomotor performance under different environmental constraints (flat versus obstructed walking) and cognitive performance with different executive function involvement (backward counting versus random number generation) were assessed under single-task (ST) and DT conditions in 135 participants (mean age 68.1 ± 8.4). The weekly number of daily steps was measured. Reciprocal DT effects of walking on cognitive performance and of the cognitive task on gait performance were computed and submitted to analyses of covariance with age, PA level, and cognitive functioning as covariates, followed by linear regressions with PA level as predictor. Cognitive task demands and environmental constraints individually and jointly affected gait variability (p = 0.033, ηp2 = 0.08) and executive function performance (p = 0.009, ηp2 = 0.09). Physical activity level predicted a low but significant percentage of variance of DT effects on gait only in flat walking (R2 = 0.04, p = 0.027). Results suggest that older individuals may adopt variable task prioritization in dual tasking depending on the type of executive function involvement and the environmental constraints on walking. Their DT ability was slightly affected by habitual PA.

Keywords: aging; cognition; gait; obstructed walking; physical activity; working memory.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Effect of cognitive task demands on dual task (DT) effects for speed variability (coefficient of variation (CV) speed) as a function of environmental constraints on walking. BC = backward counting; RNG = random number generation. DT effect = ((DT – ST) / ST × 100). * = p < 0.05.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effect of environmental constraints on walking (flat walking, obstructed walking) on dual-task (DT) effects for working memory span obtained from backward counting (BC), working memory updating, and inhibition obtained from random number generation (RNG). DT effect = ((DT – ST)/ST × 100). * = p < 0.05.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Prediction of dual-task (DT) effects accrued by physical activity level (steps/day) for mean stride length during flat walking.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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