Falls are significantly associated with gait alterations, but few studies have assessed this association in older Hispanics. Street crossing simulations are sensitive to evaluate functional dual-task gait. The objective of this study was to compare the ability of older Hispanics with and without history of falls in adapting their preferred speed gait to the increased demands of street crossing conditions. Sixty-four Hispanics 75 ± 7 years old (16 fallers and 48 non-fallers) walked 3 times on an instrumented mat at preferred speed, and during simulated street crossing with regular and with reduced time. Gait velocity, cadence, step length, base support, swing and stance time, single and double support time, knee flexion angle, and anterior tibialis and gastrocnemius lateralis muscle activity were measured. Data collected during the preferred speed gait condition was used to normalize the data collected during the street crossing simulations. Analysis was performed using chi-square, two-way ANOVA and independent t-tests at 5% significance level. Older Hispanics with a history of falls did not increase their gait speed (p = 0.035) and did not decrease their stance time (p = 0.018) and double support time (p = 0.011) as much as the non-fallers during the street crossing conditions. There were no significant differences between the other variables or between street crossing conditions and no interactions. Older Hispanics with history of falls did not adapt as well as those without falls to the increased demands of street crossing conditions compared to waking at preferred speed.
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