Association of gait speed with regional brain volumes and risk of dementia in older Japanese: The Hisayama study

Takahiro Tajimi; Yoshihiko Furuta; Naoki Hirabayashi; Takanori Honda; Jun Hata; Tomoyuki Ohara; Mao Shibata; Tomohiro Nakao; Takanari Kitazono; Yasuharu Nakashima; Toshiharu Ninomiya

doi:10.1016/j.archger.2022.104883

Association of gait speed with regional brain volumes and risk of dementia in older Japanese: The Hisayama study

Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2023 Mar:106:104883. doi: 10.1016/j.archger.2022.104883. Epub 2022 Dec 2.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan; Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
² Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan; Department of Medicine and Clinical Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan. Electronic address: furuta.yoshihiko.496@m.kyushu-u.ac.jp.
³ Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan; Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
⁴ Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan; Center for Cohort Studies, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
⁵ Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan; Department of Medicine and Clinical Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan; Center for Cohort Studies, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
⁶ Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan; Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
⁷ Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan; Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan; Center for Cohort Studies, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
⁸ Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
⁹ Department of Medicine and Clinical Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan; Center for Cohort Studies, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
¹⁰ Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.

PMID: 36495658
DOI: 10.1016/j.archger.2022.104883

Abstract

Background: To investigate the association of gait speed with regional brain volumes and the risk of incident dementia.

Methods: A total of 1112 dementia-free Japanese residents aged ≥65 years who underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging were followed for 5.0 years (median). The participants were classified into the age- and sex-specific quartile levels of maximum gait speed. Regional gray matter volumes (GMV) and white matter hyperintensities volumes (WMHV) were measured by applying voxel-based morphometry methods. The cross-sectional association of maximum gait speed with regional GMV was examined using an analysis of covariance. We also estimated the association between maximum gait speed level and the risk of developing dementia using a Cox proportional hazards model. Mediation analyses were conducted to determine the contribution of regional brain volumes to the association between maximum gait speed and dementia.

Results: Lower maximum gait speed was significantly associated with lower GMV of the total brain, frontal lobe, temporal lobe, cingulate gyrus, insula, hippocampus, amygdala, basal ganglia, thalamus, and cerebellum, and increased WMHV at baseline. During the follow-up, 108 participants developed dementia. The incidence rate of all dementias increased significantly with decreasing maximum gait speed after adjusting for potential confounders (P for trend = 0.03). The mediating effects of the GMV of the hippocampus, GMV of the insula, and WMHV were significant.

Conclusions: Lower maximum gait speed was significantly associated with an increased risk of dementia. Reduced GMV of the hippocampus or insula, and an increase in WMHV was likely to be involved in this association.

Keywords: Brain magnetic resonance imaging; Cohort study; Gait speed; White matter hyperintensity.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Aged
Brain / diagnostic imaging
Cross-Sectional Studies
East Asian People*
Female
Gray Matter / diagnostic imaging
Gray Matter / pathology
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods
Male
Walking Speed*