Scientists Say The Inability To Complete A Simple Home Test Is Associated With An Increased Risk Of Premature Death.

The study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, found that middle-aged and older people who could not stand on one foot for more than 10 seconds were more likely to die in a decade than those who could pass the mobility test. Previous studies have linked the inability to stand on one leg to a higher risk of stroke, while previous research has also found a link between poor balance in old age and the onset of dementia. Although the new findings are observational and do not show a cause-and-effect relationship, researchers, including Claudio Gil Araujo of Clinimex Clinical Exercise in Rio de Janeiro, say the balance test could be done in elderly health examinations. The 12-year study, conducted from 2008 to 2020, assessed the ability of more than 1,700 people between the ages of 51 and 75 to walk steadily, standing on one leg for 10 seconds without support, while allowing three attempts at either the two. foot. The researchers say that a standardized balance test has not yet been included in the health checks of middle-aged and elderly people. They found that about one-fifth of the participants failed the test and over the next decade, 123 people died from various causes. Scientists say that the inability to stand without support on one leg for 10 seconds is associated with an 84% higher risk of death from any cause, adjusted according to age, gender and underlying conditions. The findings are also in line with observations made in a 2014 study published in the journal Stroke, which found that an imbalance in one leg for 20 seconds or more was associated with an increased risk of small blood vessel damage to the brain. and reduced ability to understand ideas. Research has also found that standing on each leg for about a minute three times a day can help improve hip bone density. Stronger bone density in the hip, scientists say, would also make people less likely to fall and break bones. Citing the limitations of the new study, the researchers say the participants were all white Brazilians, suggesting that the results may not be extendable to other ethnicities. However, they say the research “provides fast and objective feedback to patients and health professionals on static balance” and “useful information on the risk of mortality in middle-aged and older men and women”.