Alterations in Hand-eye Coordination and Gait in Individuals with Anxiety: A Cross-sectional Study
YC09-YC13
Correspondence
Dr. Jayesh Chandran,
Assistant Professor (Grade II), Nitte Institute of Physiotherapy, NITTE (Deemed to be University), Mangaluru-575018, Karnataka, India.
E-mail: jayeshnairpt@gmail.com
Introduction: The involvement of the motor system in anxiety is barely addressed and remains under-researched in cognitive theories. Understanding the link between motor impairments and anxiety symptoms can aid in creating personalised treatments for individuals with motor disorders, thereby enhancing their productivity and career prospects. The relationships between hand-eye coordination and gait, respectively with anxiety may be overlooked if the focus is limited to core diagnostic criteria. Therefore, The present study examined how anxiety influences hand-eye coordination and spatiotemporal gait parameters in individuals, highlighting these important yet often neglected aspects.
Aim: To investigate alterations in hand-eye coordination and spatiotemporal parameters of gait in individuals with anxiety.
Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted at the motion analysis laboratory in the Nitte Institute of Physiotherapy, Mangaluru, Karnataka, India. The individuals were screened for anxiety using the Generalised Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7) and 156 participants were included based on a GAD-7 score of ≥ 8. Participants’ fine and gross motor hand-eye coordination was assessed using the Scale for Handwriting Evaluation (SHE) and the Alternate-Hand Wall-Toss Test (AHWTT), respectively. A 2D gait analysis system was used to assess spatiotemporal gait parameters. The obtained data were analysed using IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 29.0.10. The Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r) was utilised to assess the relationship between anxiety and hand-eye coordination, as well as between anxiety and spatiotemporal gait parameters. One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) compared hand-eye coordination and gait parameters across different GAD-7 levels, while Tukey’s test was used for post-hoc analyses. A p-value of less than 0.05 was deemed statistically significant.
Results: The average age of the participants was 21.37±2.35 years. The study found weak negative correlations between the AHWTT score (r= -0.358, p <0.05) and the SHE score (r= -0.285, p<0.05) with the GAD-7 score, respectively, but no correlation between the GAD-7 score and gait parameters. Significant differences were found in the AHWTT score, SHE score, walking speed and stride length across anxiety levels.
Conclusion: Anxiety levels negatively correlated with hand-eye coordination, with anxious individuals exhibiting poorer performance. However, the relationship between anxiety and gait remained inconclusive.