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Background and Purpose : The Groningen Meander Walking time (GMW-sec) test has not been clinically validated as a feasible assessment to test functional mobility skills. The purpose of this study was to determine the concurrent validity of the GMW-sec test with the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test in older adults with dementia. Methods : This study included a cross-sectional and between subjects design with one factor, which had three different levels of group. Consecutive sampling was used to recruit 145 elderly participants in dementia and senior care facilities. Participants were divided into three groups based on the result of a Mini-Mental Status Exam for Dementia Screening: 57 older adults with dementia, 25 older adults with mild cognitive impairment, and 63 healthy older adults. Results : Spearman rank order correlation showed that the TUG test had moderate association with the GMW-sec test not only in older adults with dementia ( r = 0.69; p < 0.01), but also for the mild cognitive group ( r = 0.63; p = 0.01) and healthy group ( r = 0.47; p < 0.01). Older adults with dementia had a significant functional reduction for both GMW-sec and TUG tests compared to other two groups ( p < 0.01). Discussion and Conclusion : Turning motions with the TUG test may cause similar challenges that relate to a curved walking path for the GMW-sec test in older adults with dementia. Both the TUG and GMW-sec tests could be effective approaches for screening the severity of cognitive impairment on functional mobility in people with dementia.

Objective . To confirm that physical activity program improves the symptoms of dementia and the most effective physical activity was selected to help establish exercise programs. Methods . Three databases, PubMed, Science Direct, and Willey online, were used to collect articles. The databases were published between January 2005 and December 2015. Keywords such as "dementia," and "physical activity" were used in searching for papers. As a result, nine studies were selected in the second screening of the meta-analyses. Results . The improvement in the dementia symptom of physical capacity was 1.05 (high effect size, 95% CI: 0.03 to 0.73), ability of activity of daily living was 0.73 (slightly high effect size, 95% CI: 0.23 to 1.23), cognitive function was 0.46 (medium effect size, 95% CI: 0.26 to 0.66), and psychological state was 0.39 (lower than the medium effect size, 95% CI: 0.01 to 0.77). Conclusion . The physical activity for patients with dementia had an effect on the improvement of physical capacity and combined exercise was the most effective physical activity.

Objective: To determine whether the existing literature provides evidence that curved path walking time can be a reliable marker of cognitive impairment among older adults using a network meta‐analysis (NMA). Data Sources: PubMed, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Korean Studies Information Service System (KSISS) electronic databases were searched in December 2019. Study Selection: Studies that included the following variables were selected: (P): patients with cognitive impairment, (I): straight path versus curved path walking, (C): control group without cognitive impairment, (O): walking time, and (S): cross‐sectional or longitudinal study design. In total, 21 studies were selected for the NMA, which was performed to compare the standardized mean difference (SMD) of walking time on curved and straight paths. Results: Older adults with dementia had significantly longer walking times than older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) for both straight path walking and curved path walking. The SMD of straight path walking time was 0.59 (95% credible interval [CrI]: 0.39, 0.81) for older adults with MCI and 0.90 (95% CrI: 0.65, 1.16) for older adults with dementia. The SMD of walking time on a curved path was 0.52 (95% CrI: −0.22, 1.26) for older adults with MCI and 1.98 (95% CrI: 1.20, 2.92) for those with dementia. In older adults with dementia, the correlation coefficient of the Fisher's z value was higher for curved path walking than for straight path walking. Conclusion: The way people with dementia walk exhibits signs of cognitive impairments. NMA confirmed that older adults with dementia requires significantly longer time to walk the same distance than healthy controls or older adults with MCI for both curved and straight path walking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. The goals of this study were to assess the effectiveness of WBV (whole body vibration) training through an analysis of effect sizes, identify advantages of WBV training, and suggest other effective treatment methods. Methods. Four databases, namely, EMBASE, PubMed, EBSCO, and Web of Science, were used to collect articles on vibration. Keywords such as “vibration” and “stroke” were used in the search for published articles. Consequently, eleven studies were selected in the second screening using meta-analyses. Results. The total effect size of patients with dementia in the studies was 0.25, which was small. The effect size of spasticity was the greatest at 1.24 (high), followed by metabolism at 0.99 (high), balance, muscle strength, gait, and circulation in the decreasing order of effect size. Conclusions. The effect sizes for muscle strength and balance and gait function, all of which play an important role in performance of daily activities, were small. In contrast, effect sizes for bone metabolism and spasticity were moderate. This suggests that WBV training may provide a safe, alternative treatment method for improving the symptoms of stroke in patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]