A simple 10-second balance test for people over 50 years of age revealed the chance of an earlier risk of dying related to health conditions.
Research by a team of scientists from the University of Sydney in Australia said the inability to stand on one leg for 10 seconds indicated an earlier risk of death compared to those who could do it with balance.
Quoted from 9News, Wednesday (22/6/2022) the research authors propose this health test to be part of routine health checks for adults over 50 years old. Participants were asked to place one foot in front of the other, arms at the side, and gaze straight ahead.
Researchers took a sample of 1,702 participants aged 51-75 years, of which two-thirds were men. About one in five people, or 348 of those in the group, failed the test.
In general, those who failed the test had worse health conditions, a higher proportion of obesity, and were categorized as having heart disease, high blood pressure, and an unhealthy blood lipid profile.
"Type 2 diabetes is three times more common in people who fail this test," says the peer-reviewed study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
After accounting for age, gender, and underlying conditions, the researchers found that the inability to stand without support on one leg for 10 seconds was associated with an 84% increased risk of death from any cause in the next decade.
The researchers followed the participants for an average of seven years, and recorded 123 people died from causes including cancer (32%), cardiovascular disease (30%), respiratory disease (9%) and complications of COVID-19 (7%).
"The proportion of deaths among those who failed the balance test was significantly higher, the researchers said, at 17.5% vs. 4.5%," the researchers said.
According to a study conducted jointly with Clinimex Medicina do Exercicio in Brazil, the proportion of people who cannot stand on one leg for 10 seconds is almost 5% among those aged 51-55 years, 8% for 56-60, just under 18% in the 61-65 range and almost 37% for 66-70 age groups.
"More than half of those aged 71-75 could not complete the test, which means people in this age group are 11 times more likely to fail compared to those 20 years younger," they said.
Unlike aerobic fitness and muscle strength and flexibility, balance tends to be maintained fairly well into the sixth decade of life.
"However, once a person reaches the age of 50, their balance begins to decline relatively quickly. Despite this decline, balance assessments are not routinely included in the health screenings of middle-aged and older men and women," the researchers said.
They believe this may be because there is no standardized test for balance and is exacerbated by the lack of data linking balance ability assessments with clinical outcomes other than the incidence of falls.
The researchers concluded that the 10-second balance test provides rapid and objective feedback for patients and healthcare professionals regarding static balance. The test, they said, added useful information about the risk of death in middle-aged and older men and women.