Timed Up and Go test: a simple test gives important information in elderly.

Correspondence: Sonia Maria Dozzi Brucki; Rua Rio Grande,180; 04018-000 São Paulo SP, Brasil; E-mail: [email protected] Conflict of interest: There is no conflict of interest to declare. Received 11 February 2015 Accepted 18 February 2015 The Timed Up and Go test (TUG) is a largely used test to measure gait, motor speed, frailty and physical function in elderly, besides as a predictor of risk of falls. It has been considered a predictor of activities of daily living in community cohorts. In another studies TUG test has been associated with cognitive test to increment difficulty in dual-task paradigms, with an increasing rate of falls and an impaired performance among subjects with cognitive impairment. In the study of Mirelman et al. authors have tried to assess TUG in older individuals without dementia and with mild cognitive impairment; they observed that time of completion of TUG was not different, but the quality was, showing motor-cognitive interactions. Studies with Parkinson’s disease patients have demonstrated TUG is associated with cognitive impairment. Many authors have used TUG with dual task (TUG-DT) that has been demonstrated as a good measure of gait disorders among elders; the tasks can be motor or cognitive. In the study of Christofoletti et al. dual task had a great influence on performance in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease; it is important information for care of patients and their activities of daily living, which include dual tasks. The manuscript entitled Age and education influence the performance of elderly women on the dual-task Timed Up and Go test published in this current number investigated the influences of age, education and physical activity among 92 elderly women from community, on TUG dual task. Although TUG has reference time values well established, there is no normative data investigating TUG-DT and education in Brazil. This manuscript gives us some data related to this important topic. Cognitive reserve could be a theoretical background since education is a surrogate for this concept and is associated with better health and physical conditions and, consequently better performance in TUG-DT. Two age groups (69 to 74 years; 75 to 79 years) and two education groups (3-4 years and 8 years) were analyzed; and both were grouped as sedentary or active. The oldest group had higher dual task cost (percentage of spent time comparing TUG and TUG-DT); higher education was associated with better performance in all measures. The number of falls over the last six months was reported more times by the younger group. An unexpected finding was sedentary and active women performed equally on tasks. This sample has showed a greater average time than other studies described in a recent meta-analysis, but possibly methodology was different. This manuscript was well designed and the results could be used as a parameter of normality in different age and educational groups in elderly women. DOI: 10.1590/0004-282X20140243 EDITORIAL