AUTHOR=Lilja-Lund Otto , Nyberg Lars , Maripuu Martin , Laurell Katarina 

TITLE=Dual-Task Performance in Older Adults With and Without Idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience

VOLUME=Volume 14 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/aging-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2022.904194

DOI=10.3389/fnagi.2022.904194

ISSN=1663-4365

ABSTRACT=Two of the main features in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) are disturbed gait and cognition. These features are typically investigated separately, but here we combined walking with a cognitive task to investigate if older adults with iNPH were more susceptible to dual-task interference on walking than those without iNPH. In total, 95 individuals from the general population participated in our study. Of these, 20 were classified as Possible iNPH (median [IQR] 80 years [75 – 82.5]) and 75 as Unlikely iNPH (74 years [72 – 78]). Conversation, 10-m walking, semantic and phonemic verbal fluency were performed combined or independently. “Stopping walking while talking” was noted. Pairwise comparisons and multiple logistic regression analyses were used. We found that the Possible iNPH group was older, stopped walking more frequently during conversation, and had a slower single-task pace. Dual-task pace was slower for both groups. Only single-task walking pace could predict Possible iNPH when adjusted for age. We could establish a dual-task cost on gait performance in this sample of older adults from the general population, but the cost was not exclusive for individuals with Possible iNPH. To further asses the value of dual-task testing in iNPH, including observations of stopping walking while talking, a study of a clinical iNPH material with more severe symptoms would be valuable.