A Study on the Relationship between Gait Factors and Concentration according to Smartphone Use while Walking

Objective: Most of the risk of using smartphones while walking and experimental studies related to walking and there is a lack ofevidence for cognitive ability when walking using smartphones. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effect of using a smartphone while walking on gait factor and concentration function. Design: A Cross sectional studyMethods: For gait measurement, 26 subjects (mean age: 23.08 ± 2.83) walked for 6 minutes using normal gait (NG) and gait withsmart phone (GWS) while walking. Gait factors were evaluated during the test. For gait factors, gait variables such as gait distance,gait speed, cadence, step width, stride length, stance phase, and swing phase were measured using a gait analysis device. Attention was tested to determine changes in concentration while using a smartphone. Results: Gait distance was high in NG, but Cadence was high in GWS (p<0.05). Stride lengths and NG were high (p<0.05), andGWS showed a significant increase in the stance phase (p<0.001). However, gait speed and step width did not show significantchanges (p>0.05). Attention showed a significant change (p<0.001), and there was a significant correlation between attentionand stance phase (r=0.603). Conclusions: These results are expected to have an impact not only on walking but also on social traffic accidents and safetyaccidents due to the limited field of view and decreased attention when using smartphones. Based on these research results, it can be used as a training effect when cognitive function declines, and it can also be used as training to improve attention andconcentration.