A new study has found that people who can not stand on one leg for 10 seconds have an increased risk of death within seven years. Asking people to take the flamingo-type balance test provides “useful information about the risk of mortality in middle-aged and older men and women,” the researchers said. The team of global researchers, including experts from the Bristol Medical School, looked at data on 1,702 people aged 51 to 75 from Brazil. When participants enrolled in the study, they were given various medical details and, as part of a health check, were asked to stand on one leg for 10 seconds without any additional support. To standardize the assessment, people were asked to take off their shoes and socks and place the front of their free foot on the back of the opposite foot, with their hands on their sides and their eyes fixed straight on the front. They were allowed three attempts. One in five people (20%) failed the test, failing to make it increase with age – 54% of people aged 71 to 75 could not balance on one leg for 10 seconds compared to just 5% from 51 to 55 years, 8% from 56 to 60 years, 18% from 61 to 65 years and 37% from 66 to 70 years. People who failed the test were more likely to be older, overweight, and more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes. The study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, followed participants for a number of years. Follow-up after seven years After an average follow-up of seven years, 123 people had died, or 7% of the participants. About 17.5% of those who failed the test were among those who died, compared with 4.6% of those who failed. After taking into account various factors, the researchers concluded that the inability to stand without support on one leg for 10 seconds was associated with an 84% increased risk of death during the follow-up period. Read more from Sky News: Cancer disappears in every patient in small test The mystery of the origin of the Black Death has been solved, scientists say Trained police officer draws red line in COVID test to skip work “Using the static balance test regularly in adults with a wide range of ages and a variety of clinical conditions, the test was extremely safe, well-received by participants and, above all, simple to incorporate into our standard practice, as it takes less than a minute or two. to be implemented “, they wrote. They concluded that the 10-second balance assessment “provides rapid and objective feedback to patients and health professionals on static balance” and that the test “adds useful information on the risk of mortality in middle-aged and older men and women”. “There is a potential benefit to including a 10-second leg posture (test) as part of a routine physical examination in middle-aged and older adults.”
