Association of gait with global cognitive function and cognitive domains detected by MoCA-J among community-dwelling older adults: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Gait was proved to be strongly associated with global cognitive function and multiple cognitive domains; however, previous research usually concentrated on individual gait parameters. This study used wearable sensors to measure gait parameters in different aspects and comprehensively explored the association of gait with global cognitive function and cognitive domains. METHODS: The data of this cross-sectional study were obtained from 236 community-dwelling Japanese older adults (125 men and 111 women) aged 70–81 years. Gait was measured by asking participants to walk a 6-m course and back using the Physilog® sensors (GaiUp®, Switzerland). Global cognitive function and cognitive domains were evaluated by face-to-face interviews using the Japanese version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. Twenty gait parameters were summarized as independent gait factors using factor analysis. A generalized linear model and linear regression model were used to explore the relationship of gait with global cognitive function and cognitive domains adjusted for several confounding factors. RESULTS: Factor analysis yielded four gait factors: general cycle, initial contact, propulsion, and mid-swing. Among them, general cycle factor was significantly associated with global cognitive function (β = − 0.487, [− 0.890, − 0.085]) and executive function (P = 0.049); initial contact was associated with executive function (P = 0.017). CONCLUSION: General cycle of gait might be the better marker of global cognitive function and gait is most strongly associated with executive function. The longitudinal relationships should be examined in future cohort studies. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12877-021-02467-5.