Prevalence and risk factors for abnormal tandem gait in patients with essential tremor syndrome: A cross-sectional study in Southwest China.

Objectives: Patients with essential tremor (ET) syndrome have more prevalent and more serious gait and balance impairments than healthy controls. In this cross-sectional study, we explored whether balance impairments are associated with falls as well as more pronounced non-motor symptoms in patients with ET syndrome. Methods: We assessed the tandem gait (TG) test, as well as falls or near-falls that occurred over the previous year. Non-motor symptoms-including cognitive deficits, psychological and sleep disorders-were evaluated. In univariate analyses, statistical significance was corrected for multiple comparisons using the Benjamini-Hochberg method. Multiple logistic regression was utilized to evaluate the risk factors of poor TG performance in patients with ET syndrome. Results: A total of 358 patients with ET syndrome were divided into the abnormal TG (a-TG) and normal TG (n-TG) groups based on their performances in the TG test. We revealed that 47.2% of patients with ET syndrome had a-TG. The patients with a-TG were older, were more likely female, and were more likely present with cranial tremors and falls or near-falls (all adjusted Conclusion: TG abnormalities may be a predictor of fall risk in patients with ET syndrome and are associated with non-motor symptoms, especially depression.