Objective: To evaluate age-related gait differences under various tasks and to identify data-driven gait profiles based on dual-task vulnerability in healthy Korean adults.

Background: Establishing normative gait features is essential for identifying disease-specific alterations. However, comprehensive reference data across the adult lifespan remain limited, particularly under real-world walking conditions.

Method: A cross-sectional gait assessment was conducted using GAITRite® under four conditions: preferred speed, serial sevens subtraction, cell phone use, and backward walking. The gait parameters were categorized into five domains: pace, variability, rhythm, asymmetry, and postural control. Participants were stratified into younger (<60) and older aged (≥60) groups. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was performed on the dual-task cost variables to identify data-driven gait profiles.

Results: A total of ninety-eight healthy adults (age range: 23-87 years) were included in the analysis. Age-related differences were most pronounced during cell phone use, supported by significant age × task interaction effects across the pace, variability, rhythm, and postural control domains (p_fdr<0.05). LPA identified three profiles: Pace-Preserved (Pa-P), Asymmetry-Dominant (Asym-D), and Postural control-Dominant (Pc-D). Although younger participants were evenly distributed, the older participants were predominantly classified into the Asym-D and Pc-D profiles. The Asym-D profile, characterized by the highest mean age, exhibited numerically lower cognitive scores, particularly in the visuospatial domain.

Conclusion: Across chronological age groups and data-driven profiles, gait impairment was most pronounced in the cognitive-motor dual-task condition. Complex dual-task assessments can reveal subtle age-related gait vulnerabilities. These normative data provide valuable references for identifying pathological gait patterns in clinical populations.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/normative-dual-task-gait-profiles-across-the-adult-lifespan-in-healthy-korean-adults/