(68) COMPARISON OF WALKING PERFORMANCE MEASURES AMONG ADULTS AT-RISK FOR ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE: DIGITAL HEALTH COACHING VS HEALTH EDUCATION

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a 12-month HC intervention on selected measures of functional fitness. Methods: Adults (N = 215) between the ages of 45-75 years were randomly assigned to either a HC (n = 112, M±SD: age = 62.4±7.7 years, mass = 86.2±20.1 kg, height = 167.5±9.3 cm, BMI = 30.5±5.7 kg/m²) or health education (HE) group (n = 103, M±SD: age = 61.6±8.6 years, mass = 83.5±16.1 kg, height = 167.5±9.1 cm, BMI = 29.7±4.7 kg/m²). Participants completed the following assessments at baseline and again at 12 months: 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT), habitual walking speed test (HWS), and maximal walking speed test (MWS). Both ADRD interventions focused on nutrition, physical activity, stress management, sleep, cognitive activity, and social engagement. The HE participants received bi-weekly emails containing material related to one of these topics, whereas HC participants engaged with a personal health coach. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (M±SD) and two-way ANOVA with repeated measures (p ≤ .05). Due to attrition and missing data, 195 participants were included in the data analysis (HC = 100 and HE = 95). Results: There were no significant interactions between the two groups on 6MWT (p = .43), HWS (p = .52), or MWS (p = .41) (Table 1). However, there was a significant main effect for time on the 6MWT (p = .04) and MWS (p < .01). Both groups increased the distance covered during the 6MWT. However, both groups decreased their MWS. Conclusions: Both HC and HE groups showed slight improvements in their 6MWT and declines in the MWS while maintaining their HWS. Interestingly, the HE group showed a larger reduction in MWS (3.7%) as compared to the HC group (2.2%). However, additional research is needed to the examine underlying relationship between the type of intervention and maximal walking speed. Practical Applications: These findings support the use a HE or HC intervention aimed at ADRD for adults between the ages of 45-75 to maintain habitual walking speed and potentially improve walking distance. Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the National Institute of Aging [R44AG063672].