A-06: Depression but Not Anxiety Predicts Gait Speed in Older Adults

Abstract

Objective: Gait time/speed is an established predictor of physical function and health in older adults. However, less is known about its relationship with emotional health factors. This study investigated the relationship between gait speed and symptoms of anxiety and depression in 121 adults aged 57-87 years. Method/Data Selection: The Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) was used to measure gait time/speed. Depression and anxiety symptoms were measured using NIH Toolbox Neuro-QoL self-report questionnaires. Hierarchical multiple regression examined emotional health factors while adjusting for the effect of demographic factors on gait speed. Results/Data Synthesis: Regression analyses found that age (β = .227, p = .011), education (β = −.315, p < .001), and depression (β = .353, p = .003) but not sex (β = .152, p = .070) or anxiety (β = −.197, p = .114) significantly contributed to the final model, with 6.1% of the unique variance in gait speed explained by depression symptoms. Conclusions: These findings suggest that gait speed is sensitive to depression but not anxiety symptoms in older adulthood, whereby greater depression symptoms were associated with slower gait speed. These findings have implications for the interpretation of gait speed in older adults at risk of cognitive decline, as slower gait may reflect not only cognitive or neurological vulnerability, but also depressive symptoms.