Key result
Higher discharge gait speed is linked to better physical and mental health after cardiorespiratory failure.
Why the study?
Survivors of cardiorespiratory failure face high risk of persistent mobility and cognitive impairment, but the application of dual-task paradigms to evaluate mobility under complex circumstances remains underexplored in this population.
Is single- and dual-task gait performance associated with physical and mental health outcomes in survivors of cardiorespiratory failure?
Observational (n=41)
Is single- and dual-task gait performance associated with physical and mental health outcomes in survivors of cardiorespiratory failure?
Effect estimate: Beta 0.18 (physical) / 0.11 (mental) (95% CI 0.08-0.29 / 0.03-0.20)
Single- and dual-task gait speeds at hospital discharge are associated with physical and mental health quality of life in survivors of cardiorespiratory failure, suggesting gait assessment may serve as a biomarker of functional recovery.
May indicate cognitive-motor interference in critical illness survivors; hypothesis-generating and should not yet change practice.
Rationale Survivors of cardiorespiratory failure face high risk of persistent mobility and cognitive impairment. Gait speed is recognized as an integrative measure of both physical and cognitive function. Dual-task paradigms—assessing mobility performance with and without concurrent cognitive task—offer sensitive means to evaluate mobility under complex circumstances. However, their application in survivors of cardiorespiratory failure remains underexplored. We examined how single- and dual-task gait performance relate to physical & mental health outcomes in survivors of cardiorespiratory failure. Methods Adult patients with cardiorespiratory failure who were being discharged home from hospitalization completed dual-task assessments involving lower-extremity motor speed (4-meter gait speed, m/s) and, for comparison, upper-extremity motor speed (finger tapping, taps/second). Each task was performed under single-task (motor only) and dual-task (motor + cognition) conditions. Dual-task effects (DTE) were calculated as percent change from single-task performance. Patient-reported outcomes included the PROMIS Physical and Mental Health Summary scores. Associations between performance measures and outcomes were examined using Spearman correlations and linear regressions adjusted for age and sex. A subset of participants completed repeat testing to explore longitudinal changes. Results 41 survivors (63% female; median [interquartile range (IQR)] age 61.8 (40.7, 68.8) years) were assessed. Median (IQR) single-task gait speed was 0.6 (0.4, 0.8) m/s, decreasing to 0.5 (0.3, 0.7) under dual-task conditions (median (IQR) DTE -14.2% (-23.7, -7.8%), p < 0.001]. Finger-tapping speed decreased from 2.4 (1.7, 3.1) to 2.0 (1.1, 2.4) taps/s, with DTE -16.9 (-40.4, 0.9, p < 0.001). Higher gait speed at hospital discharge was associated with higher mental health summary scores (per 0.1m/s Beta coefficient (95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.11 (0.03, 0.20) and physical health summary scores (Beta coefficient (95% CI) 0.18 (0.08, 0.29). Dual-task gait speed showed similar associations. Upper-extremity finger-tapping speed also decreased significantly from single- to dual-task conditions (median (IQR) taps/s 2.4 (1.7, 3.1) to 2.0 (1.1, 2.4)] but its DTE were not significantly related to quality-of-life outcomes. Among 13 participants with follow-up data (median (IQR) days between visits 99.0 (86.0-118.0)], PROMIS Physical Health improved from 36.5 (36.3-38.3) to 39.8 (38.6-42.4) (p = 0.04), with reductions in depressive symptoms and activities-of-daily-living disability and a trend toward faster gait speed. Conclusion Among survivors of cardiorespiratory failure, both single- and dual-task gait speed were associated with both physical and mental health quality of life domains. These results suggest that clinical gait assessment may have a role as an integrated biomarker of functional recovery after critical illness. This abstract is funded by: NHLBI, K01HL140279
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Hope et al. (2026) conducted an observational in Cardiorespiratory failure (n=41). Single- and dual-task gait speed assessment was evaluated on PROMIS Physical and Mental Health Summary scores (Beta 0.18 (physical) / 0.11 (mental), 95% CI 0.08-0.29 / 0.03-0.20). Higher gait speed at hospital discharge in survivors of cardiorespiratory failure was associated with better physical (Beta 0.18; 95% CI 0.08-0.29) and mental health scores.
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