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Research article2020Peer reviewedOpen access

Timed Up-and-Go Dual-Task Testing in the Assessment of Cognitive Function: A Mixed Methods Observational Study for Development of the UDDGait Protocol

Cedervall, Ylva; Stenberg, Anna M.; Ahman, Hanna B.; Giedraitis, Vilmantas; Tinmark, Fredrik; Berglund, Lars; Halvorsen, Kjartan; Ingelsson, Martin; Rosendahl, Erik; Aberg, Anna Cristina

Abstract

New methods to screen for and identify early-stage dementia disorders are highly sought after. The purpose of this pilot study is to develop a study protocol for a dual-task test aimed at aiding the early detection of dementia disorders. We used the Timed Up-and-Go (TUG) test, which is a mobility task involving starting in a sitting position, standing up, walking three meters to cross a line on the floor, turning around, walking back and sitting down again. We combined TUG with the verbal task of naming different animals. Pilot study participants were 43 individuals with and without established dementia diagnoses who attended a clinic for memory assessment. Video-recorded test performances were systematically analysed. Deviant test performances concerning the interplay between test administration and participants' responses to the assessment instructions were revealed and led to refinements being made to the final study protocol. Exploration of the dual-task test outcome measures in a sub-sample of 22 persons, ten with and twelve without dementia, indicated that step-length and number of named animals after the turning point of the dual-task test might constitute appropriate measures for examining this kind of sample. We concluded that the refined study protocol is feasible for testing individuals undergoing initial memory assessments and healthy controls. Follow-up studies with larger samples are being carried out and will bring new knowledge to this area of research. It may also provide an opportunity for further studies exploring possibilities for broad clinical implementation.

Keywords

screening; memory assessment; feasibility; study protocol; dementia diagnosis; cognitive impair

Published in

International journal of environmental research and public health
2020, Volume: 17, number: 5, article number: 1715
Publisher: MDPI

    UKÄ Subject classification

    Neurology
    Geriatrics

    Publication identifier

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17051715

    Permanent link to this page (URI)

    https://res.slu.se/id/publ/105425