EARLY DETECTION OF MOBILITY DECLINE - SMARTPHONE-BASED ANALYSIS OF GAIT AND STAIR NEGOTIATION

Q: How does the study detect early mobility decline?

It uses smartphone-based accelerometry to compute gait and stair negotiation indices, including movement similarity derived from dynamic time warping (DTW).

Q: What dual tasks were used during the gait and stair assessments?

Participants performed tasks with cognitive dual load (texting) and physical dual load (carrying load).

Q: Which metric was identified as the strongest early indicator?

Movement similarity showed a strong ability to indicate early mobility decline, with results highlighting its utility for detecting subtle changes in midlife.

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by Rhys

Aging is associated with gradual mobility decline that often remains undetected until it interferes with daily activities, and impairments may appear as early as midlife. The study evaluates smartphone accelerometry to detect early, age-related mobility changes using gait and stair negotiation tasks with cognitive and physical dual tasks. Eighty-eight healthy adults were divided into four age groups and completed gait and stair testing. Findings show movement similarity as a strong indicator of early mobility decline, supporting targeted interventions for healthy aging.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages1

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

EARLY DETECTION OF MOBILITY DECLINE: SMARTPHONE-BASED ANALYSIS OF GAIT AND STAIR NEGOTIATION

Participants and age-group design

Gait and stair negotiation assessment with dual tasks

Key outcome measures and DTW-based indices

Main findings and implications for early detection

236 Innovation in Aging, 2025, Vol. 9, No. S2 acceleration signal. Dual-task cost (DTC) of the cognitive and physical tasks were calculated for each gait measure. Stair negotiation outcomes included total ascent and descent time (sec), muscle power (watts/m), and movement similarity using vertical (V) DTW. Late middle-aged adults had significantly higher cognitive DTC of stride time variability than young adults (p =0.006). A strong indicator of early mobility decline was movement similarity. Young adults showed significantly lower cognitive DTCof DTW-AP compared to all other groups, early middle-age (p = 0.035), late middle-age (p = 0.007) and older adults (p = 0.006), as well as lower DTW-V during stair ascending (p < 0.001, compared to all groups). These findings highlight the utility of smartphone-based indices, particularly movement similarity, to detect subtle mobility changes in midlife, allowing for targeted interventions to promote healthy aging. Abstract citation ID: igaf122.789 EARLY DETECTION OF MOBILITY DECLINE: SMARTPHONE-BASED ANALYSIS OF GAIT AND STAIR NEGOTIATION Roee Hayek1, Rebecca Brown2, Itai Gutman1, Guy Baranes1, and Shmuel Springer1, 1. Ariel University, Ariel, HaMerkaz, Israel, 2. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Aging is associated with gradual mobility decline, often undetected until it affects daily activities. Although most mobility impairments are linked to old age, they can emerge as early as middle age. We examined the utility of smartphone-based accelerometry to detect early age-related mobility changes. Participants were 88 healthy adults divided into four age groups, young (20-35 years), early middle-aged (45-54 years), late middle-aged (55-65 years), and older adults (65-80 years). They completed gait assessments with and without cognitive (texting) and physical (carrying load) dual tasks and stair negotiation test. Gait measures included gait speed (m/sec), stride time variability (%), and movement similarity, measured with dynamic time warping (DTW) of anteroposterior (AP) and mediolateral (ML)

FAQs

How does the study detect early mobility decline?

It uses smartphone-based accelerometry to compute gait and stair negotiation indices, including movement similarity derived from dynamic time warping (DTW).

What dual tasks were used during the gait and stair assessments?

Participants performed tasks with cognitive dual load (texting) and physical dual load (carrying load).

Which metric was identified as the strongest early indicator?

Movement similarity showed a strong ability to indicate early mobility decline, with results highlighting its utility for detecting subtle changes in midlife.

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by Rhys