Addition of a dual task to the five times sit to stand test may better reveal balance and functional mobility limitations in older adults

Research Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate whether addition of a dual task (DT) to the five times sit to stand test (5STS) may better reveal balance and mobility limitations in older adults when compared to 5STS alone. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting University Laboratory. Participants Older adults 65 years and above, able to walk at least 10m without physical assistance, able to follow simple instructions, Mini-Mental State Examination score of > 23, and no other neurologic, severe musculoskeletal or cardiovascular diagnoses were recruited. 12 older adults (O; 9 Female, 3 Male; Mean Age: 69±3.5 years) and 12 younger adults (Y; 7 Female, 5 Male; Mean Age: 24±3.8 years) completed three trials each of 5STS and a DT (counting backwards by 3) 5STS. Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures Time to complete 5STS was measured for each trial. For older adults, functional mobility was assessed using the Timed Up and Go (TUG), knee and hip strength using a handheld dynamometer, fear of falling via the Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I), and gait speed was calculated from 8 ft. walk test. Results Participants took more time to complete DT 5STS (Y, 8.4±1.8s; O, 10.9±1.9s) compared to the 5STS (Y, 7.5±1s; O, 9.4±2.1s; p=.001). Older adults took longer time to complete 5STS than younger adults (p=.002). Slower gait speed correlated with longer DT 5STS (r=-.59, p=.044) but not with 5STS alone (r=-.36, p=.26). Similarly, slower TUG times correlated with longer DT 5STS (r=.670, p=.017), but not with 5STS alone (r=.512, p=.089). Other relationships were non-significant for both DT 5STS and 5STS. Conclusions Addition of a DT to the 5STS test may be more appropriate than a single task assessment of 5STS alone to assess balance and functional mobility limitations for older adults due to the presence of multi-tasking during everyday activities. Preliminary results support the need for additional research to determine the clinical utility of adding a DT to the 5STS test. Author(s) Disclosures There are no conflicts of interest related to this work.