Influence of dual task and frailty on gait parameters of older community-dwelling individuals

Gait parameters such as gait speed (GS) are important indicators of functional capacity. Frailty Syndrome is closely related to GS and is also capable of predicting adverse outcomes. The cognitive demand of gait control is usually explored with dual-task (DT) methodology. To investigate the effect of DT and frailty on the spatio-temporal parameters of gait in older people and identify which variables relate to GS. The presence of frailty was verified by Fried's Frailty Criteria. Cognitive function was evaluated with the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) and gait parameters were analyzed through the GAITRite(®) system in the single-task and DT conditions. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov, ANOVA, and Pearson's Correlation tests were administered. The participants were assigned to the groups frail (FG), pre-frail (PFG), and non-frail (NFG). During the DT, the three groups showed a decrease in GS, cadence, and stride length and an increase in stride time (p