Background: Using smartphones during a task that requires upright posture is suggested to be detrimental for the overall motor performance. The aim of this study was to determine the role of age and specific aspects of cognitive function on walking and standing tasks in the presence of smartphone use.
Methods: 51 older (36 women) and 50 young (35 women), mean age: 66.5 ± 6.3 and 22.3 ± 1.7 years, respectively, were enrolled in this study. The impact of using a smartphone was assessed during a dynamic (timed up and go, TUG) and a static balance test (performed on a force platform). Multivariate analyses of variance were applied to verify main effects of age, task, estimates of cognitive function and interactions.
Results: Compared to young, older individuals exhibited a poorer performance on the dynamic and on the static test (age effect: p = 0.001 for both variables). Dual-tasking with a smartphone had a negative impact on both groups (task effect: p = 0.001 for both variables). The negative impact, however, was greater in the older group (age × task effect: p = 0.001 for both variables). Executive function and verbal fluency partially explained results of the dynamic and static tests, respectively.
Conclusions: The negative impact of using a smartphone while performing tasks similar to daily activities is higher in older compared to young people. Subclinical deficits in distinct aspects of cognitive function partially explain the decreased performance when dual-tasking.
Keywords: balance; cell phone; gait; mobility; multitasking behavior; pedestrian; smartphone.