mean cortical thickness (B),
total surface area (C),
and log-transformed white matter hyperintensities (D).
The left-hand scatterplots show associations between brain structure parameters and IQ at age 45 years.
The right-hand scatterplots show associations between brain structure parameters and composite gait speed at age 45 years.
These findings are from a 5-decade cohort study of 904 participants in New Zealand published in @JAMANetworkOpen which tested the hypothesis that slow gait speed reflects accelerated biological aging at midlife.
Slow gait was associated with multiple indices of compromised structural brain integrity, including smaller total brain volume, global cortical thinning, and reduced total surface area.
Slow gait at midlife was associated with poorer neurocognitive functioning across multiple cognitive domains; there was a mean difference of 16 IQ points (>1 SD) between the slowest and fastest walkers (ie, bottom vs top quintile).
Gait speed is used primarily to monitor the functional capacity of older adults and to forecast their rate of age-related decline, however these findings suggest that gait speed may not only be a geriatric concern.
Gait speed is more than just a geriatric index of adult functional decline; rather, it is a summary index of lifelong aging with possible origins in childhood CNS deficits. This helps to explain why gait can be such a powerful indicator of risk of disability and death.
The correlation for brain volumes is rather small, however an IQ difference of 16 is quite significant.
(Special Thanks to Nicholas Fabiano for his post on X).
Surtil : 