Single and dual task tests of gait speed are equivalent in the prediction of falls in older people: A systematic review and meta-analysis

• Single and dual task gait speed were equivalent in predicting falls in older people.
• This did not change in subgroups of fitter, frailer and cognitively impaired people.
• Different types of secondary cognitive tasks did not change the predictive validity.
• Dual task gait speed tests are not required for fall risk screening in clinical practice.

Although simple assessments of gait speed have been shown to predict falls as well as hospitalisation, functional decline and mortality in older people, dual task gait speed paradigms have been increasingly evaluated with respect to fall prediction. Some studies have found that dual task walking paradigms can predict falls in older people. A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to determine whether dual task walking paradigms involving a secondary cognitive task have greater ability to predict falls than single walking tasks. The meta-analytic findings indicate single and dual task tests of gait speed are equivalent in the prediction of falls in older people and sub-group analyses revealed similar findings for studies that included only cognitively impaired participants, slow walkers or used secondary mental-tracking or verbal fluency tasks.