• Laura Lorenzo-López, María Campos-Magdaleno, Rocío López-López, David Facal, Arturo X Pereiro, Ana Maseda, Julia Blanco-Fandiño, and José Carlos Millán-Calenti.
• Gerontology and Geriatrics Research Group, Instituto de Investigación biomédica de A Coruña (INIBIC), Complexo Hospitalario Universitario de A Coruña (CHUAC), SERGAS, Universidade da Coruña, A Coruña, Spain.
• Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2020 Nov 1; 35 (11): 1358-1366.

ObjectiveThe aim of this pilot study was to investigate differences on dual- and triple-task performance in institutionalized prefrail and frail older adults. Performance on these tasks is relevant since many activities of daily living involve simultaneous motor and cognitive tasks.MethodsWe used a phenotypic description of frailty based on the presence or absence of five criteria related to physical fitness and metabolism (unintentional weight loss, self-reported exhaustion, muscle weakness, low gait speed, and low physical activity). Thirty-three institutionalized older adults (≥ 65 years, 78.8% females) were divided according to their frailty status. Participants completed cognitive tasks (a phonemic verbal fluency task and a visuospatial tracking task) while cycling on a stationary cycle (upper- and lower-extremity function was assessed). Cycling (number of arm and foot cycles) and cognitive (number of correct answers) performances were measured during single-, dual-, and triple-task conditions. Performances and costs of dual -and triple- tasking on cycling and cognitive performances were compared between prefrail and frail groups.ResultsPrefrail and frail older adults did not differ in their performance in dual-tasks; however, frail older adults showed a poorer performance in the triple-task.ConclusionsAlthough future studies need to confirm our observations in larger samples, this pilot study suggests that developing new tools based on triple tasking could be useful for the comprehensive assessment of frailty.© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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