ArticleThe journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences2024
Balance, Strength, and Risk of Dementia: Findings From the Health and Retirement Study and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.
Article in The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Clinical importance of simple muscular fitness tests to predict long-term health conditions: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 94 cohort studies.British journal of sports medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Postural Balance, Hearing Loss, and Cognitive Executive Function in the Elderly: Are They Related?Audiology research · 2026Article
- Predictors of Incident Dementia in a Cohort of Elders with Essential Tremor: A Prospective, Longitudinal Study.Neuro-degenerative diseases · 2026Article
- Immune cell subsets linking insomnia trajectories and incident cognitive impairment: a prospective cohort study.BMC medicine · 2026Article
- Targeting Pain and Depression in Alzheimer's Disease: Translational Insights and Emerging Treatments.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Obstructive sleep apnea risk is associated with poor physical performance: a cross-sectional analysis of the U.S. health and retirement study.Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2026Article
- Sensorimotor Impairment and Incident Dementia in the US Medicare Beneficiaries.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2026Article
- GWAS of Active Music Engagement Frequency in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.Research square · 2026Article
- Assessment of Bidirectional and Threshold-Response Associations Between Cognitive Function and Physical Performance: Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2025Article
- Adolescent IQ and performance-based measures of physical function in old age: a 54-year longitudinal study.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2025Article
- Biomarkers of aging: from molecules and surrogates to physiology and function.Physiological reviews · 2025Review
- Gait changes with aging: an early warning sign for underlying pathology.Journal of neurology · 2025Review
- Associations between 10-second standing balance tests and mild cognitive impairment in older adults in Colombia: A cross-sectional national survey.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundSlow gait speed has been consistently associated with an increased risk of dementia. This study examined whether measures of balance and lower limb strength are similarly related to the risk of developing dementia.
methodsParticipants from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS, N = 5 658, mean age = 73.23, standard deviation [SD] = 6.22) and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA, N = 3667, mean age = 69.90, SD = 7.02) completed measures of gait speed, semi-tandem balance, chair stand (ELSA only), and cognitive status at baseline. Cognitive status was assessed over up to 15 years.
resultsBaseline slower gait speed (hazard ratio [HR]HRS = 1.52, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.32-1.75, p < .001; HRELSA = 1.73, 95% CI = 1.37-2.18, p < .001); and balance impairment (HRHRS = 1.58, 95% CI = 1.26-1.96, p < .001; HRELSA = 1.97, 95% CI = 1.24-3.14, p < .01) were related to a higher risk of incident dementia, adjusting for demographic factors. The combination of slower gait and impaired balance was associated with a two-to-three times higher risk of dementia in HRS and ELSA. Worse performance on the chair stand at baseline was associated with a higher risk of dementia in ELSA (HR = 1.56, 95% CI = 1.23-1.99, p < .001). All performance measures remained significant when entered simultaneously and accounted for obesity, diabetes, blood pressure, physical activity, smoking, and depressive symptoms. There was little evidence that age, sex, or APOE ε4 moderated the association.
conclusionsSimilar to gait speed, measures of balance and strength are associated with a higher risk of incident dementia. The findings have implications for clinical practice, given that these routinely used geriatric assessment tools are similarly related to dementia risk.
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