Author(s): LABOTT, B., LACHMANN, J., BÜCHEL, D., WOLLESEN, B., Institution: GERMAN SPORT UNIVERSITY, Country: GERMANY, Abstract-ID: 772

INTRODUCTION:
Even though walking while talking is a well-practiced habitual activity for healthy young adults, it is a cognitively demanding task [1]. Different types of speech production may place varying cognitive and motor demands on gait control thereby affecting spatiotemporal gait parameters [2,3]. We investigated how three different types of talking tasks (automatic repetition vs. spontaneous speech vs. sustained phonation) influence spatiotemporal gait parameters in young adults. We hypothesized that spatiotemporal gait parameters would differ during talking conditions compared to no talking.
METHODS:
Young adults (N=22, 22.7±3.6 years, 10 female) performed walking trials on the 8m GAITrite® (CIR Systems Inc., Franklin, NJ) system in four different conditions. For baseline, participants walked at their normal speed without talking. Then, they performed three dual-task conditions in a walking-by-talking fashion: 1) automatic repetition: repeating words spoken by the assessor, 2) sustained phonation: saying each vowel loudly and continuously for as long as they were walking, 3) spontaneous speech: answering the question ‘which are your favorite free time activities?’. Spatiotemporal gait parameters (gait speed, cadence, right and left stride time, right and left step length) were compared across the four conditions using one-way ANOVAs with repeated measurements.
RESULTS:
Mean baseline gait speed was 1.26±0.12 m/s and showed a trend towards reduction during automatic repetition (1.22±0.14 m/s), sustained phonation (1.22±0.13 m/s), and spontaneous speech (1.22±0.12 m/s), though this was not statistical significant (F(3, 60)=2.31, p=.085, ηG²=0.016). Right step length showed a significant difference between the four conditions, F(3, 60)=2.84, p=.045, ηG²=0.024), with baseline being the longest (71.8±4.5 cm) (repetition: 70.0±5.5 cm, sustained phonation: 70.6±4.5 cm, and spontaneous speech: 70.1±4.5 cm). Post hoc tests revealed no significant differences between the conditions (all p>.05). All other parameters showed no significant differences across the four conditions.
CONCLUSION:
Walking-and-talking tasks tend to reduce gait speed by means of reduced step length in young adults, while other spatiotemporal parameters were unaffected. These findings suggest that young adults cannot maintain gait stability during speech related dual-task walking conditions. Greater dual-task interference should be observed in populations with reduced cognitive functioning, such as older adults.


References
[1] Raffegeau et al. (2018). Walking while talking: Young adults flexibly allocate resources between speech and gait. Gait Posture, 64, 59–62.
[2] Armieri et al. (2009). Dual task performance in a healthy young adult population: Results from a symmetric manipulation of task complexity and articulation. Gait Posture, 29(2), 346-348.
[3] Latir et al. (2022). The Dual-Task Effects of Conversating While Walking on Gait Spatiotemporal Parameters in Healthy Young Adults. Malays. J. Med. Health Sci., 18.