Reliability and discriminative validity of single- and dual-task 10-meter walk test for assessing cognitive-motor interference in children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy

BACKGROUND: Although cognitive involvement is well documented in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), it is rarely integrated into routine physiotherapy assessments. PURPOSE: Therefore, this study aimed to examine the test - retest reliability and discriminative validity of the 10-Meter Walk Test (10MWT) under single-task, motor - motor dual-task, and cognitive - motor dual-task conditions in children with DMD. METHODS: ) based on a two-way mixed-effects model with absolute agreement for single measurements, and discriminative ability was examined using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. CONCLUSION: The 10MWT under single- and dual-task conditions is a reliable and highly discriminative tool for children with DMD. Beyond measuring motor performance, its dual-task versions allow physiotherapists to indirectly capture cognitive-motor interference, providing clinically meaningful information for more comprehensive functional monitoring and individualized rehabilitation planning in this cognitively affected population.