Abstract

The present study sought to examine age-related differences in reaction time responses under simple- and dual-task conditions in active middle-aged males. Fifty healthy males aged 42 to 64 years who took part in public marathon events in 2010 or 2011, and who had participated in ski marathon events for more than 2 years were assessed, and whole body reaction times (WBRTs) were measured by under simple-task and dual-task conditions. In the dual-task condition, participants performed WBRTs measurements while they counted backwards aloud to 1, starting from 100. Although reaction times in the simple-task condition were not associated with age (r=0.21, p=0.14), a significant positive correlation was found between age and reaction times in a dual-task task condition involving concurrent cognitive tasks (r=0.45, p<0.01). One-way analysis of variance revealed that older subjects (60 years and older) responded more slowly than two younger groups (aged <50 and 50-59 years) in dual-task conditions (F=7.87, p<0.01). However these age-related differences were not found in simple-task reaction times (F=1.74, p=0.19). The present findings suggest that attentional capacity assessed by reaction time in dual-task conditions declined with age in active middle-aged males. Verf.-Referat