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Abstract #111948 Published in IGR 24-3
Single- and Dual-Task Gait Performance in Patients With Open-Angle Glaucoma: A Cross-sectional Study
Freitag CW; Behrens M; Menrad T; Al-Nosairy KO; Al-Nosairy KO; Stolle FH; Prabhakaran GT; Beyer R; Thieme H; Hoffmann MB; Schega LTranslational vision science & technology 2023; 12: 31
PURPOSE: To investigate gait kinematics during single- and dual-task walking in glaucoma patients compared with healthy controls. METHODS: Nineteen glaucoma patients (10 females, 9 males) and 30 healthy controls (17 females, 13 males) participated in this cross-sectional study. Spatiotemporal gait parameters (e.g., stride length, velocity, minimum toe clearance [MTC]) were assessed using inertial measurement units (sampling frequency 100 Hz) during single-task walking and dual-task walking at a comfortable velocity. During dual-task walking, participants walked and concurrently performed different cognitive tasks in a random order: (i) reaction time task, (ii) N-Back-task, and (iii) letter fluency task with two difficulty levels, respectively. Repeated measures analyses of covariance (Group × Condition) were conducted to analyze the data. RESULTS: A significant effect of group was found for the coefficient of variation (CoV) of the MTC, F(1,39) = 4.504, P = 0.040, \({\rm{\eta }}_{\rm{p}}^2\) = 0.104, with higher values in glaucoma patients. Based on the effect sizes, a main effect of group was also found for the MTC, F(1,39) = 2.668, P = 0.110, \({\rm{\eta }}_{\rm{p}}^2\) = 0.064, and the MTCCoV dual-task costs, F(1,38) = 3.225, P = 0.08, \({\rm{\eta }}_{\rm{p}}^2\) = 0.078, which was lower and higher, respectively, in glaucoma patients. CONCLUSIONS: The present study revealed a significantly higher MTC variability as well as medium effect sizes for a lower MTC and higher MTC dual-task costs in glaucoma patients compared with healthy controls, which might be related to a higher risk of falling owing to tripping. TRANSLATIONAL RELEVANCE: The minimum toe clearance might mirror disease-related changes in walking performance and might have prognostic value for assessing fall risk in glaucoma patients.
Department of Health and Physical Activity, Institute III, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany.
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