Association of Dual Decline in Cognition and Gait Speed With Risk of Dementia in Older Adults.

IMPORTANCE: Dual decline in gait speed and cognition has been found to be associated with increased dementia risk in previous studies. However, it is unclear if risks are conferred by a decline in domain-specific cognition and gait. OBJECTIVE: To examine associations between dual decline in gait speed and cognition (ie, global, memory, processing speed, and verbal fluency) with risk of dementia. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cohort study used data from older adults in Australia and the US who participated in a randomized clinical trial testing low-dose aspirin between 2010 and 2017. Eligible participants in the original trial were aged 70 years or older, or 65 years or older for US participants identifying as African American or Hispanic. Data analysis was performed between October 2020 and November 2021. EXPOSURES: Gait speed, measured at 0, 2, 4, and 6 years and trial close-out in 2017. Cognitive measures included Modified Mini-Mental State examination (3MS) for global cognition, Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R) for memory, Symbol Digit Modalities (SDMT) for processing speed, and Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT-F) for verbal fluency, assessed at years 0, 1, 3, 5, and close-out. Participants were classified into 4 groups: dual decline in gait and cognition, gait decline only, cognitive decline only, and nondecliners. Cognitive decline was defined as membership of the lowest tertile of annual change. Gait decline was defined as a decline in gait speed of 0.05 m/s or greater per year across the study. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Dementia (using Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [Fourth Edition] criteria) was adjudicated by an expert panel using cognitive tests, functional status, and clinical records. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate risk of dementia adjusting for covariates, with death as competing risk. RESULTS: Of 19 114 randomized participants, 16 855 (88.2%) had longitudinal gait and cog