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Updated: Sep 6, 2025
Clinical Assessment of Spatiotemporal Gait Parameters in Patients and Older Adults
Published on: November 7, 2014
Are the spatiotemporal gait parameters at different walking speeds capable of predicting variations in cognitive
Letícia Pophal da Silva1, Natália Boneti Moreira2, André Luiz Felix Rodacki1
1Department of Physical Education, Federal University of Paraná, Setor de Ciências Biológicas, Curitiba, Brazil.
Background:
Several studies have reported the association between cognition and gait; however, most are limited to investigating gait in just one speed, usually the self-selected one, and commonly, only the general score of cognitive tests is used.
Aims:
Investigate the relationship between the spatiotemporal gait parameters at different speeds (self-selected and fast walking speeds) and cognitive status in older adults.
Methods:
Cross-sectional study. Two hundred and ninety-five older adults (70.9 ± 7.2 years; 82.3% women) were evaluated according to cognitive status (Mini-Mental State Examination, MMSE) and spatiotemporal gait parameters.
Results:
Data analysis indicates that the spatiotemporal gait parameters (stride length, step time, and single support time) were able to predict cognitive status, assessed by the MMSE general score and its subdomain (temporal and spatial orientation) at both walking speeds.
Conclusions:
The spatiotemporal gait parameters were associated with cognitive status, assessed by the MMSE (general score and temporal and spatial orientation), regardless of the walking conditions. The model's variance was significant and with a large effect size. Stride length and step time were identified as the variables with the best explanatory factors. Therefore, it is concluded that greater cognitive performance is associated with longer stride lengths and faster step times.
