Neurobehavioural Predictors of Mobility During Distracted Walking in Healthy Young, Middle-Age, and Older Adults

Abstract

Brain activity and balance strategies change throughout adulthood such that older adults have increased fall risk and rely on executive resources to maintain balance. Falls have significant negative outcomes for older adults, however, fall risk begins to increase during mid-life. The specific timing of the age-related change in neurobehavioural markers of mobility have not been established. This work aimed to determine the age at which brain activity and gait speed during complex walking deviated from young-adult patterns and identify sociodemographic factors that influenced this relationship. Piecewise linear regression on data points from 113 participants indicated that neurobehavioural outcomes became more similar to older adults by the mid-Fifties. Two-step cluster analysis showed that age and education predicted neurobehavioural mobility outcomes. Mediation analyses revealed that brain activity compensated for age-related mobility decline. Together, these findings suggest that neurobehavioural changes in mobility begin in mid-life and that sociodemographic factors can predict mobility outcomes.