Concurrent gait and cognitive impairment in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging: in search for modifiable risk factors

Most of the disabilities of aging will arise from gait and cognitive impairments, that when combined affect one-third of the elderly yielding five billion/year in health costs. Until recently, gait and cognitive impairments were evaluated and managed separately, obscuring common connections. However, new evidence shows that the concurrent gait and cognitive impairment seen in aging increases the risk of falls, fractures, dementia, and also mortality. To date, systematic investigations of modifiable risk factors for concurrent gait and cognitive impairments in large population-based samples have not been pursued. Importantly, these modifiable factors may emerge between mid and later life, and differ between women and men. Our goal is to identify common modifiable risk factors that will open the opportunity to treat this syndrome as a single entity, thus doubling the intervention repertoire.