Comparison of characteristics of bimanual coordinated movements in older adults with frailty, pre-frailty, and robust health

Abstract

Introduction: Despite the growing concern regarding a potential increase in the number of older adults with frailty owing to an aging global population, the characteristics of bimanual coordination in such older adults remain unclear. This study aimed to compare bimanual coordinated movements among community-dwelling older adults with frailty, pre-frailty, and robust health and identify the specific characteristics of these movements in older adults with frailty. Methods: Participants were divided into frail, pre-frail, and robust groups on the basis of Kihon Checklist scores; they performed in-phase (tapping the thumb and index finger together as fast as possible) and anti-phase (alternating the movement between the left and right fingers) bimanual coordination tasks, and the task parameters were then compared among the groups. Results: The total travel distance during the anti-phase task in the frail group was significantly shorter than that in the robust group. However, all three groups showed lower finger dexterity during the anti-phase task than the in-phase task and in the left hand than in the right hand. Conclusions: Older adults with frailty show less movement in bimanual coordination tasks than robust older adults, suggesting that bimanual coordination tasks may be useful tools for assessing frailty.