Dual-task performance in seniors with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease: a longitudinal study

BACKGROUND: Motor performance in older adults with cognitive impairment is worse under dual task conditions, increasing the risk of falls. However, there is a lack of studies that analyze this performance over time in people with different cognitive profiles. AIM: This study aimed to compare the performance of an isolated task and a dual task in people with preserved cognition (PrC), mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer`s disease (AD). METHOD: Data were collected on two occasions (T1; T2), thirty-two months apart. Participants (n=51) were separated between groups: PrC (n=22), MCI (n=19) and AD (n=10). They were analyzed in three situations: 1) isolated motor task - Timed up and go test (TUGT); 2) cognitive-motor test (CMT)– dialing on the phone; 3) dual task (DT). To compare the performance of the dual task between the groups, delta was calculated and the ANCOVA test was applied. RESULTS: Although the cost of the dual task was not significantly different over time in any group, we found increases in the time required to complete the TUGT (p0.01) after 32 months in the AD group and a reduction in time in the PrC and MCI groups. A greater number of steps in the TUGT-DT (p