Objectives
This study examined the relationships between late-onset depressive symptoms, antidepressants,
and single and dual task gait in older adults.
Design
Cross-sectional study.
Setting
The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), a nationally representative cohort
study.
Participants
Community-dwelling adults aged 60 years and older, with Mini-Mental State Examination
score ≥24, no history of Parkinson's disease or early onset depression, and unaided
completion of a gait assessment (N = 1,998). This study compared participants with
and without potentially clinically relevant depressive symptoms (i.e., ≥16 on the
Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale) and participants who were and
were not on antidepressant therapy.
Measurements
Gait measures were obtained during single and dual task (reciting alternate letters
of alphabet, A-C-E) walking using a 4.88 m GAITRite walkway. Regression analysis was
used to examine the associations between each group and gait adjusting for sociodemographics
and health.
Results
In the unadjusted models, depressive symptoms and antidepressant use were associated
with gait deficits. After adjusting for covariates, antidepressant use was associated
with reduced gait speed and stride length in single and dual task walking; depressive
symptoms were not associated with any deficits.
Conclusions
As gait impairments are associated with an increased risk of adverse outcomes including
falls, clinicians should be aware of the impact of antidepressants on gait in older
adults. Subsequent to this, interventions aimed at improving physical function, which
is a known precursor to falls and functional disability, should be recommended.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: May 01, 2014
Accepted:
April 15,
2014
Received in revised form:
April 14,
2014
Received:
November 13,
2013
Identification
Copyright
© 2015 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
