Gait and Dual-Task Performance in Older Adults with Suspected Cognitive Impairment: Effects of an 8-Week Exercise Program

Highlights: Older adults with suspected cognitive impairment showed significantly poorer single- and dual-task mobility at baseline, confirming that cognitive decline substantially increases dual-task cost and functional vulnerability. An 8-week multicomponent exercise program produced large, meaningful improvements in TUG and TUG-DT performance in cognitively impaired participants, demonstrating the effectiveness of short-term, cognitively enriched training in enhancing mobility. What are the main findings? Older adults with suspected cognitive impairment performed worse than those without impairment on TUG and TUG-DT at baseline; the impaired group improved substantially after an 8-week multicomponent program. Simple TUG showed the largest responsiveness post-intervention; TUG-DT captured cognition–mobility demands. What are the implications of the main findings? TUG measures are sensitive to cognitive status and change, supporting routine functional screening in institutional settings. Personalized multicomponent exercise may enhance mobility in cognitively impaired older adults. Background/Objectives: Gait performance in aging relies heavily on cognitive resources, yet the extent to which short-term interventions can mitigate dual-task costs in institutionalized populations remains understudied. This study aimed to compare single and dual-task gait performance between older adults with and without suspected cognitive impairment and to evaluate the effects of an 8-week multicomponent exercise program on functional mobility. Methods: Institutionalized older adults (n = 42) were stratified into two groups: suspected cognitive impairment (n = 26) and no suspected impairment (n = 16), based on MMSE and Clock Drawing Test screening. Participants performed the Timed Up and Go (TUG) and Dual-Task TUG (TUG-DT) at baseline and post-intervention. Results: At baseline, the suspected impairment group exhibited significantly poorer performance on both tests (p < 0.001) compared to the non-impaired group. Following the 8-week intervention, the suspected impairment group demonstrated large, significant improvements in both TUG (r = −0.73) and TUG-DT (r = −0.59), whereas the non-impaired group remained stable. Notably, while the single-task TUG showed the greatest responsiveness to the exercise program, the TUG-DT continued to reveal a significant cognitive-motor load. Conclusions: Multicomponent exercise effectively enhances functional mobility in cognitively vulnerable older adults, reversing declines in both single and dual-task conditions. Significance: These findings support the implementation of dual-task screening to unmask latent functional deficits and validate the use of accessible, short-term multicomponent exercise programs as a vital strategy to preserve autonomy in institutionalized older adults.