The gait features under dual task walking and its relationship with fear of falling in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes / 中华护理杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the gait features under dual task walking and its relationship of fear of falling in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes.Methods A total of 168 elderly patients with type 2 diabetes were selected.Patients were asked to complete the general information questionnaire,mini-mental state examination and fear of falling assessment.The gait parameters under normal and dual task walking were measured objectively and quantitatively by IDEEA,and the relationship between fear of falling and the gait parameters under dual task walking were explored.Results Elderly patients with type 2 diabetes were more prone to gait abnormalities in dual task walking,and compared with those who are not fear of falling,the gait performance in dual task walking decreased significantly in the patients with fear of falling,such as lower velocity and step length,higher variability of stride time(all P＜0.05).Conclusion Elderly patients with type 2 diabetes were more prone to gait disorders in dual tasking than normal walking.Normal walking test may overestimate the actual walking ability of patients.In contrast,dual task walking test can better reflect the challenges of daily life,and be closer to the patient walking patterns in real life,which might be better suited for assessing actual mobility of patients.In addition,elderly patients with type 2 diabetes who are fear of falling are more prone to gait abnormalities in dual tasking walking.