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Updated: Apr 3, 2026
Clinical Assessment of Spatiotemporal Gait Parameters in Patients and Older Adults
Published on: November 7, 2014
The effect of age and microstructural white matter integrity on lap time variation and fast-paced walking speed
Qu Tian1, Luigi Ferrucci2, Susan M Resnick3
1Longitudinal Studies Section, Translational Gerontology Branch, National Institute on Aging, 251 Bayview Blvd., Suite 100, Rm 04B316, Baltimore, 21224, Maryland. qu.tian@nih.gov.
Abstract:
Macrostructural white matter damage (WMD) is associated with less uniform and slower walking in older adults. The effect of age and subclinical microstructural WM degeneration (a potentially earlier phase of WM ischemic damage) on walking patterns and speed is less clear. This study examines the effect of age on the associations of regional microstructural WM integrity with walking variability and speed, independent of macrostructural WMD. This study involved 493 participants (n = 51 young; n = 209 young-old; n = 233 old-old) from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. All completed a 400-meter walk test and underwent a concurrent brain MRI with diffusion tensor imaging. Microstructural WM integrity was measured as fractional anisotropy (FA). Walking variability was measured as trend-adjusted variation in time over ten 40-meter laps (lap time variation, LTV). Fast-paced walking speed was assessed as mean lap time (MLT). Multiple linear regression models of FA predicting LTV and MLT were adjusted for age, sex, height, weight, and WM hyperintensities. Independent of WM hyperintensities, lower FA in the body of the corpus callosum was associated with higher LTV and longer MLT only in the young-old. Lower FA in superior longitudinal, inferior fronto-occipital, and uncinate fasciculi, the anterior limb of the internal capsule, and the anterior corona radiate was associated with longer MLT only in the young-old. While macrostructural WMD is known to predict more variable and slower walking in older adults, microstructural WM disruption is independently associated with more variable and slower fast-paced walking only in the young-old. Disrupted regional WM integrity may be a subclinical contributor to abnormal walking at an earlier phase of aging.
Insights
Subclinical white matter degeneration, not visible damage, impacts walking speed and consistency in the young-old. This early-stage brain aging affects gait before macrostructural changes are apparent.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Gerontology
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Macrostructural white matter damage (WMD) is linked to gait impairments in older adults.
- The impact of subclinical microstructural white matter (WM) degeneration on walking patterns is less understood.
- Investigating early WM changes offers insights into age-related gait decline.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine how age influences the association between regional microstructural WM integrity and walking variability/speed.
- To differentiate the effects of microstructural WM integrity from macrostructural WMD on gait.
- To identify specific WM tracts affected in early aging.
Main Methods:
- Utilized diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to measure microstructural WM integrity (fractional anisotropy, FA) in 493 participants from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging.
- Assessed walking variability (lap time variation, LTV) and fast-paced walking speed (mean lap time, MLT) using a 400-meter walk test.
- Employed multiple linear regression models, adjusting for age, sex, BMI, and WM hyperintensities.
Main Results:
- Lower FA in the corpus callosum predicted higher LTV and longer MLT specifically in the young-old group.
- Reduced FA in tracts including the superior longitudinal and uncinate fasciculi was associated with longer MLT, again, only in the young-old.
- These associations were independent of macrostructural WM hyperintensities.
Conclusions:
- Microstructural WM disruption, rather than macrostructural damage, is an independent predictor of more variable and slower fast-paced walking in the young-old.
- Regional WM integrity may represent a subclinical factor contributing to abnormal walking patterns in early aging.
- Findings suggest that early-stage WM degeneration impacts gait before macroscopic changes are evident.
