Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32506119›Full record

ArticleThe journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences2021

The Effects of Tau, Amyloid, and White Matter Lesions on Mobility, Dual Tasking, and Balance in Older People.

Maria H Nilsson, Gro Gujord Tangen, Sebastian Palmqvist, Danielle van Westen, Niklas Mattsson-Carlgren, Erik Stomrud, Oskar Hansson

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
12citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
1.1field-weighted citation impact, top 19% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

12 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Motor performance and its association with Alzheimer's-related biomarkers: a systematic review.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2026
    Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Review
  6. Turning as a single and dual task-associations with Alzheimer's and vascular pathologies in cognitively healthy older people.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2026
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Longitudinal investigation of gait and Alzheimer's disease in adults with Down syndrome.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2025
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Maria H NilssonDepartment of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Sweden.
Gro Gujord TangenNorwegian National Advisory Unit on Ageing and Health, Vestfold Hospital Trust, Tonsberg, Norway.
Sebastian PalmqvistClinical Memory Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Sweden.
Danielle van WestenDiagnostic Radiology, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Sweden.
Niklas Mattsson-CarlgrenClinical Memory Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Sweden.
Erik StomrudClinical Memory Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Sweden.
Oskar HanssonClinical Memory Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Sweden.
Lund University · SEOslo University Hospital · NO

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThis study aimed to investigate whether white matter lesions (WML), β-amyloid-, and tau pathologies are independently associated with mobility, dual tasking, and dynamic balance performance in older nondemented individuals.

methodsWe included 299 older people (mean, SD, age: 71.8, 5.6 years) from the Swedish BioFINDER study, whereof 175 were cognitively unimpaired and 124 had mild cognitive impairment (MCI). In multivariable regression analyses, dependent variables included mobility (Timed Up & Go [TUG]), dual tasking (TUG with a simultaneous subtraction task, that is, TUG-Cog, as well as dual task cost), and balance (Figure-of-eight). The analyses were controlled for age, sex, education, diagnosis (ie, MCI), and comorbidity (stroke, diabetes, and ischemic heart disease). Independent variables included WML volume, and measures of β-amyloid (abnormal cerebrospinal fluid [CSF] Aβ42/40 ratio) and tau pathology (CSF phosphorylated tau [p-tau]).

resultsMultivariable regression analyses showed that an increased WML volume was independently associated with decreased mobility, that is, TUG (standardized β = 0.247; p < .001). Tau pathology was independently associated with dual tasking both when using the raw data of TUG-Cog (β = 0.224; p = .003) and the dual-task cost (β= -0.246; p = .001). Amyloid pathology was associated with decreased balance, that is, Figure-of-eight (β = 0.172; p = .028). The independent effects of WML and tau pathology were mainly observed in those with MCI, which was not the case for the effects of amyloid pathology on balance.

conclusionsCommon brain pathologies have different effects where WML are independently associated with mobility, tau pathology has the strongest effect on dual tasking, and amyloid pathology seems to be independently associated with balance. Although these novel findings need to be confirmed in longitudinal studies, they suggest that different brain pathologies have different effects on mobility, balance, and dual-tasking in older nondemented individuals.

Indexed as

Cognitive DysfunctionMobility LimitationPostural BalanceTask Performance and AnalysisWhite MatterAgedAmyloid beta-PeptidesCognitionComorbidityCorrelation of DataFemaleGeriatric AssessmentHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMalePhysical Functional PerformanceAmyloid beta-Peptidestau ProteinsBiomarkersDementiaDifficulty walkingMagnetic resonance imagingPostural balance

Identifiers

PMID32506119
PMCPMC8011701
OpenAlexW3033651765

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.