Balance Assessment, Cognitive Function Decline, Dizziness, Dual-Task Performance, Falls (Accidents) in Old Age, Vestibular Dysfunction
Conditions
Brief summary
This study is being done to better understand how vestibular problems and thinking abilities (such as attention and mental flexibility) are related in older adults, and how doing a balance task and a thinking task at the same time affects their performance. Older adults will first complete questionnaires and simple paper-and-pencil tests of attention, memory, and mental rotation while seated. They will then perform standing balance tasks on a portable force platform under different conditions (eyes open, eyes closed, standing on a foam surface) and will repeat some of the thinking tasks at the same time. Next, participants will walk on a treadmill while wearing small motion sensors, both with and without added thinking tasks such as serial subtraction and digit reordering. The total testing time is about 90 minutes. Two groups will be included: healthy older adults and older adults who have had dizziness or falls in the past two years. By comparing these groups, the study aims to provide a basis for designing future dual-task assessment and training programs to reduce balance problems and falls in older adults.
Interventions
DEVICEInstrumented balance and gait assessment using wearable inertial sensors
Participants undergo a series of static and dynamic balance and gait assessments in a motion analysis laboratory while wearing body-segment inertial measurement units (IMUs). The sensors provide real-time signals for interaction with the evaluation system during single-task and dual-task standing and walking tests.
OTHERQuestionnaires and paper-based cognitive tests
Participants complete a battery of self-report questionnaires and paper-based cognitive tests after explanation by a physical therapist. Instruments include dizziness and balance scales, the Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale, and cognitive tests such as the WAIS-III Taiwan Digit Odd-Even Sequencing Test, Taiwan Stroop Word-Color Test, path judgment tasks, and mental rotation tasks. Questionnaires are administered verbally and responses recorded in writing.
Sponsors
National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
Study design
Observational model
OTHER
Time perspective
CROSS_SECTIONAL
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
55 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
1. Community-dwelling adults aged 55 years or older. 2. Able to walk at least 30 meters independently or with the use of a walking aid. 3. Able to understand the study procedures and communicate in Mandarin or Taiwanese. 4. Adequate corrected vision to go out independently. 5. Able to participate in 45-minute sessions of moderate-intensity exercise once per week.
Exclusion criteria
1. Severe central or peripheral neurological diseases. 2. Blindness or deafness. 3. Inability to communicate verbally or to understand simple instructions. 4. Current fractures or major joint injuries.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Gait speed | Baseline laboratory assessment (single visit in year 1) | Average forward velocity of whole-body progression during walking, calculated as total distance divided by time. |
| Stride length (m) | Baseline laboratory assessment (single visit in year 1) | Linear distance between two consecutive initial contacts of the same foot. |
| Step width (m) | Baseline laboratory assessment (single visit in year 1) | Mediolateral distance between consecutive foot placements, representing base of support during gait. |
| Cadence (steps/min) | Baseline laboratory assessment (single visit in year 1) | Number of steps taken per minute during walking. |
| Step-to-step variability (%) | Baseline laboratory assessment (single visit in year 1) | Variability of consecutive steps, typically quantified as the coefficient of variation of stride time or step length. |
| Trunk angular velocity (degrees/s) | Baseline laboratory assessment (single visit in year 1) | Rate of change in trunk segment orientation over time, derived from rotational kinematics. |
| Trunk angular displacement (degrees) | Baseline laboratory assessment (single visit in year 1) | Magnitude of trunk segment rotation relative to a reference orientation. |
| Center-of-mass displacement (m) | Baseline laboratory assessment (single visit in year 1) | Spatial excursion of the body's center of mass, typically analyzed in anterior-posterior and mediolateral directions during standing. |
| Response time (s or ms) | Baseline laboratory assessment (single visit in year 1) | Time elapsed between stimulus onset and initiation of a motor response. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Montreal Cognitive Assessment-Taiwan version score (0-30points) | Baseline laboratory assessment | Total score on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment-Taiwan version, representing global cognitive function. |
| Path tracing completion time (s) | Baseline laboratory assessment | Time required to complete the Color Trails Test-1 task. |
| Stroop test score (count as PR1-99%) | Baseline laboratory assessment | Score of Stroop-type task, indicating inhibitory control and selective attention. |
| Working memory completion time (s) | Baseline laboratory assessment | Time required to complete the Color Trails Test-2 task. |
| Mental rotation accuracy (number of correct responses)(0-16) | Baseline laboratory assessment | Number of correct responses in the mental rotation task, reflecting visuospatial processing ability. |
| Mental rotation completion time (s) | Baseline laboratory assessment | Time required to complete the mental rotation task. |
| Activities-specific Balance Confidence score (0-100 points) | Baseline laboratory assessment | Total score on the Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale, reflecting perceived balance confidence during daily activities; higher scores indicate greater confidence. |
| Dizziness Handicap Inventory score (0-100points) | Baseline laboratory assessment | Total score on the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), representing self-perceived handicap due to dizziness; higher scores indicate greater disability. |
| Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale - Anxiety score (0-21 points) | Baseline laboratory assessment | Subscale score of the HADS assessing anxiety symptoms; higher scores indicate greater anxiety. |
| Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale - Depression score (0-21 points) | Baseline laboratory assessment | Subscale score of the HADS assessing depressive symptoms; higher scores indicate greater depression. |
| Visual Vertigo Analogue Scale score ( 0-90points) | Baseline laboratory assessment | Self-reported severity of visually induced dizziness measured using a visual analogue scale; higher scores indicate greater symptom severity. |
| Dynamic Gait Index score (0-24 points) | Baseline laboratory assessment | Total score on the Dynamic Gait Index, based on performance across eight functional gait tasks; lower scores indicate poorer gait performance and increased fall risk. |
| Tinetti total score (0-28 points) | Baseline laboratory assessment | Combined score of balance and gait subscales in the Tinetti assessment; lower scores indicate higher overall fall risk. |
Countries
Taiwan
Contacts
CONTACTPo-Yin Chen, PhD
CONTACTQuan-Chen Wu, MS
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORPo-Yin Chen, PhD
National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Department of Physical Therapy and Assistive Technology
Outcome results
None listed