Uppsala-Dalarna Dementia and Gait Project

Summary

UDDGait™ is a multidisciplinary research project with the overreaching goal of providing an aid for early identification of cognitive impairment and risk of dementia development, thereby providing a basis for adequate symptom relieving and health promoting interventions.

A new concept is investigated for this purpose: a "dual-task-test", which implies the combination of a well-established mobility test (Timed Up-and-Go, TUG) with a simultaneous verbal task (i.e. TUG dual-task, TUGdt). This type of test has been judged as a potential aid for early identification of dementia disease. More research is needed to further examine the test's validity, reliability and predictive capacity.

The overall aim is to investigate if TUGdt is useful as an aid for prediction of dementia disease. To ensure the results, the aim is also to evaluate the test's measurement properties and to generate normative reference values of healthy control persons.

Conditions

• Dementia
• Dementia, Mixed
• Dementia Senile
• Dementia of Alzheimer Type
• Mild Cognitive Impairment
• Subjective Cognitive Impairment

Interventions

DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

Timed Up-and-Go (TUG single-task)

The TUG test is a well-established clinical test of one mobility sequence: rising from an armchair, walking straight ahead, passing a line marked on the floor, turning around, walking back, and sitting down again.

DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

Timed Up-and-Go dual-task (TUGdt)

Two dual-task tests including TUG (TUGdt) were carried out: TUGdt naming animals and TUGdt months backwards. The outcomes registered were: time scores for TUG single-task and both TUGdt tests, TUGdt costs (relative time difference between TUG single-task and TUGdt), number of different animals named, number of months recited in correct order, number of animals per 10 s, and number of months per 10 s.

DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

Clinical functional assessment

The diagnostic procedure was part of the clinical routine for patients undergoing memory assessment and involved a geriatrician's careful evaluation of the patient's history and cognitive testing including Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Clock Drawing Test, Verbal Fluency Test, and Trail Making Test A and B. In addition, all participants carried out short versions of the Geriatric Depression Scale and the General Motor Function Assessment Scale, as well as static balance according to the Bohannon Method, and hand grip strength using a dynamometer.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Uppsala University

  collaborator OTHER

• The Swedish Research Council

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• Dalarna University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Anna Cristina Åberg, PhD · Dalarna University

Eligibility

Min Age

37 Years

Max Age

94 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2015-04-09

Primary Completion

2026-12-24

Completion

2026-12-24

Countries

• Sweden

Study Locations