@article {9614, title = {Associations of Neurological Biomarkers in Serum with Gait Measures: The Cardiovascular Health Study.}, journal = {J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci}, year = {2024}, month = {2024 Feb 09}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Gait impairment leads to increased mobility decline and may have neurological contributions. This study explores how neurological biomarkers are related to gait in older adults.

METHODS: We studied participants in the Cardiovascular Health Study, a population-based cohort of older Americans, who underwent a serum biomarker assessment from samples collected in 1996-97 for neurofilament light-chain (NfL), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCH-L1), and total tau (n=1959, mean age=78.0 years, 60.8\% female). In a subsample (n=380), cross-sectional associations with quantitative gait measures were explored. This subsample was assessed on a mat for gait speed, step length, double support time, step time, step length variability and step time variability. Gait speed was also measured over a 15-ft walkway annually from 1996-97 to 1998-99, for longitudinal analyses. Linear regression models assessed cross-sectional associations of biomarkers with gait measures, while mixed effects models assessed longitudinal gait speed change from baseline to 1998-99.

RESULTS: NfL was significantly associated with annual gait speed decline (standardized β = -0.64 m/s, 95\% CI: [-1.23, -0.06]) after adjustment for demographic and health factors. Among gait mat-assessed phenotypes, NfL was also cross-sectionally associated with gait speed (β = 0.001 m/s [0.0003, 0.002]) but not with other gait measures. None of the remaining biomarkers were significantly related to gait in either longitudinal or cross-sectional analyses.

CONCLUSION: Higher NfL levels were related to greater annual gait speed decline. Gait speed decline may be related to axonal degeneration. The clinical utility of NfL should be explored.

}, issn = {1758-535X}, doi = {10.1093/gerona/glae043}, author = {Nadkarni, Abhijay and Mukamal, Kenneth J and Zhu, Xiaonan and Siscovick, David and Brach, Jennifer S and Jacob, Mini and Seshadri, Sudha and Abe, Temidayo and Rosano, Caterina and Djouss{\'e}, Luc and Rosso, Andrea L} }