Fragilidad, parámetros espaciotemporales de la marcha y funciones cognitivas en personas mayores de la comunidad en un área urbana

Resumen

Frailty syndrome is a health problem that is highly prevalent among older people. Frailty is characterised by a poor functional status that puts the older person at risk of imminent negative health events such as falls, hospitalisation, dependency and death. Thus, frailty has been identified mainly by a physical vulnerability, where activities that require mobility are affected. In this way, gait disturbances have been observed in frail subjects. However, cognition is another aspect that has been shown to be strongly associated with frailty, particularly executive function and attention. A growing theoretical framework suggests that gait disturbances identified in older people may indicate changes in cognition as a result of an insult to common brain networks responsible for both gait control and some cognitive functions. The factors responsible for this aggression also drive the frailty process and can be modified. Therefore, analysing specific parameters of gait and specific aspects of cognition in each of the stages of frailty would help us to better understand how this syndrome behaves and to identify the factors that influence each of its phases, with the ultimate aim of intervening more precisely and effectively to preserve the independence of the elderly...