Postural Tremor Is Associated with Gait and Balance Impairments in Community-Dwelling Older People.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to assess associations of postural tremor with gait and balance impairments among community-dwelling older people in both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses.

DESIGN: A prospective cohort study.

SETTING: Communities in Beijing, China.

PARTICIPANTS: This study included 7075 individuals aged 55 years or older.

MEASUREMENTS: Postural tremor was assessed using a two-step method (tremor screening followed by a confirmation examination of positive cases) at baseline. Gait and balance performances were measured with the Tinetti Mobility Test at baseline and 1 year later.

RESULTS: At baseline, 45 (24.7%) of 182 tremor cases vs 663 (9.6%) of 6893 controls had gait and balance impairments. At 1-year follow-up, 19 (21.1%) of 90 tremor cases vs 416 (9.8%) of 4262 controls experienced a rapid decline in gait and balance performance. After controlling for potential confounders, postural tremor was associated with gait and balance impairments at baseline (odds ratio [OR] = 1.77; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.20-2.62; p = .004) and a rapid decline in gait and balance performance at 1-year follow-up (OR = 1.99; 95% CI = 1.17-3.39; p = .01).

CONCLUSION: In this population-based cohort study, we found postural tremor was associated with gait and balance impairments among community-dwelling older people in both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Our findings suggest that motor function should be routinely evaluated and monitored in older people with postural tremor.