March 3, 2026

Combined Effects of Vestibular Dysfunction and Mild Cognitive Impairment on Reactive Stepping Responses in Older Adults

Key Points

Reactive balance control is more affected in older adults with mild cognitive impairment and vestibular dysfunction, suggesting higher fall risk.
Older adults with mild cognitive impairment demonstrated challenges in reactive step initiation due to vestibular dysfunction affecting sensory input.
Assessment of balance responses indicates that vestibular inputs are critical for both step triggering and execution, impacting older adults differently.
Comprehensive fall risk screenings should include evaluations of both vestibular dysfunction and cognitive decline, emphasizing their combined effect on balance.

Abstract

This suggests that VD may affect reactive balance control in OAwMCI more than CIOA by interfering with reactive step triggering/initiation, although may affect reactive step execution in both CIOA and OAwMCI. Vestibular inputs may contribute to both perturbation detection/response triggering and motor execution, and OAwMCI may have reduced capacity to compensate for unreliable vestibular sensory inputs due to impaired sensory reweighting. Comprehensive fall risk screenings could consider the combination of both cognitive decline and VD.

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Cite This Study

Pitts et al. (Wed,) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69a75c99c6e9836116a259ac https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0000000000003945

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