Dual-task and risk of falls in elderly people: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Older adult population has been increasing in the last decades. The Time Up and Go (TUG) is used in the exploration of elders and can discriminate the risk of falls. The aim of the study is to understand if aging people have more risk of falls while performing a dual-task in their daily life activities. A cross-sectional study with older people of the general community between 60-85 years was done. Participants were instructed to perform the TUG without Dual Task (DT), and with a cognitive and a motor secondary task. TUG with and without DT (motor and cognitive) presented shows statistical significance. There is an increase in time to perform TUG associated with a second task in elderly people. TUG tests can help in the multifactorial assessment of risk of falling