Higher gait variability is associated with decreased parietal gray matter volume among healthy older adults

The objectives of this study were to examine the association of stride time variability (STV) with gray and white matter volumes in healthy older adults, and to determine the specific location of any parenchymal loss associated with higher STV. A total of 71 participants (mean age 69.0 ± 0.8 years; 59.7 % female) were included in this study. All participants had a 1.0 Tesla 3D T1-weighted MRI of the brain to measure gray and white matter volumes. STV was measured at steady-state self-selected walking speed using an electronic footswitch system. We found an association between higher STV and lower gray matter volume in the right parietal lobe (e.g., angular gyrus, Brodmann area 39, cluster corrected pFWE = 0.035). There were no significant associations between STV and higher gray matter volume or change in white matter volume. To the best of our knowledge this study is the first to identify a significant association of higher STV with lower right parietal gray matter volume in healthy older adults.