{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,22]],"date-time":"2026-09-22T12:06:37Z","timestamp":1790078797837,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":23,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,17]],"date-time":"2026-09-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789603200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["J. Clin. Med.","JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Objectives: To characterize age-stratified reference patterns in dual-task performance and dual-task cost across the adult lifespan using a standardized digital assessment. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted in 400 healthy participants aged 18 to 94 years from Spain and Ecuador. Participants performed a digital dual-task test combining a motor task (cursor control to hit a virtual target) and a cognitive task (arithmetic operations). Performance was assessed under single-task (ST) and dual-task (DT) conditions. Dual-task cost (DTC) was calculated separately for the motor and cognitive components, together with a composite Mean DTC. Participants were grouped into seven age categories for descriptive age-stratified analyses, and differences were assessed using one-way ANOVA with Bonferroni-adjusted post hoc comparisons. In addition, multiple linear regression analyses were performed with age treated as a continuous variable and sex as a covariate. Results: Motor and cognitive performance was lower across older age groups under both ST and DT conditions. DTC differed significantly across age groups (p &lt; 0.001), with larger differences becoming apparent at older ages. Cognitive DTC showed a marked increase across older age groups, indicating substantial age-associated cognitive interference under dual-task conditions. Mean DTC increased from 28.1% in participants aged 18\u201329 years to 63.2% in those aged \u226580 years. Age remained significantly associated with Motor DTC (B = 0.506 per year; 95% CI 0.422\u20130.589; p &lt; 0.001), Cognitive DTC (B = 0.582; 95% CI 0.497\u20130.667; p &lt; 0.001), and Mean DTC (B = 0.544; 95% CI 0.483\u20130.604; p &lt; 0.001) after adjustment for sex. Although adjusted DTC levels differed between sexes, no significant age \u00d7 sex interaction was observed. Conclusions: Digital dual-task performance differed substantially across age groups, with higher dual-task costs observed at older ages. These findings provide age-stratified reference data for this specific digital cognitive-motor paradigm and support its further investigation as a scalable measure of cognitive-motor interference. Further psychometric, longitudinal, and clinical validation is required before the Dualtask Test can be established as a clinical biomarker or used to distinguish physiological age-associated differences from pathological cognitive decline.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm15187234","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,22]],"date-time":"2026-09-22T11:09:35Z","timestamp":1790075375000},"page":"7234","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Dual-Task Performance as a Potential Digital Biomarker of Aging: Age-Stratified Reference Patterns Across the Adult Lifespan"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2185-4350","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Manuel","family":"Murie-Fern\u00e1ndez","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Neurorehabilitation Unit, Hospital ICOT Ciudad de Telde, 35212 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain"},{"name":"Neurorehabilitation Unit, Fundaci\u00f3n Hospitalarias Euskadi, 20500 Arrasate-Mondrag\u00f3n, Spain"},{"name":"Neurology Department, Clinica San Miguel, 31006 Pamplona, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Naiara Mimentza","family":"Larrinaga","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Neurorehabilitation Unit, Fundaci\u00f3n Hospitalarias Euskadi, 20500 Arrasate-Mondrag\u00f3n, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Marina Cabrera","family":"Brito","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Neurorehabilitation Unit, Hospital ICOT Ciudad de Telde, 35212 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 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