Sensitivity of dual-task motor performance to varying levels of cognitive impairment: a systematic review and quality assessment

Summary/Abstract Dementia is one of the key public challenges of this century, with the number of persons with dementia worldwide projected to reach 115 million by 2050. This review aimed to answer whether monitoring of motor performance alone and during a cognitively taxing task (dual-task) is sufficiently sensitive to distinguish between levels of cognitive function (normal function, mild cognitive impairment, dementia) and, thus, appropriate for dementia screening. In the reviewed 15 studies, cognitively healthy controls had a higher dual-task gait speed than persons with impaired cognition (9/12 studies). The difference between dual- and single-task gait speeds (dual-task cost) was lower in healthy controls (7/8 studies). Such differences were not detected between patients with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. These results suggest that monitoring of dual-task performance may be used in early dementia screening. Diversity in research designs, lack of established statistical and reporting standards prevent meta-analysis of data.