Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Effects of vascular risk factors on balance assessed by computerized posturography in the elderly

  • Original Articles
  • Published:
Aging Clinical and Experimental Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Aims: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of vascular risk factors, isolated or in association, on balance, as assessed by posturographic platform. Methods: One hundred and seven elderly subjects (mean age 73.8±5.8), with no cognitive impairment (MMSE>24), able to perform self-care activities and to walk independently for at least 400 meters, free from major diseases. Subjective complaints were assessed by means of the Sickness Impact Profile Questionnaire. The following cardiovascular risk factors were considered: hypercholesterolemia, smoking, hypertension, glucose intolerance, and obesity. Balance tests were performed in three standardized positions (side-by-side, semi-tandem, tandem) on a vertical force platform, from which center of foot pressure positions and displacements were recorded. Results: A large percentage of enrolled subjects (35.5%) complained of unsteadiness, dizziness or vertigo, but only a few (24=22.4%) reported at least one fall in the 6 months before enrolment in the study. Among the cardiovascular risk factors taken into account, only glucose intolerance and, to a lesser extent, obesity, were associated with worse performance in stabilometric tests, independent of age and sex. Subjects with 3 or more risk factors, compared with those with 2 or less showed worse performance in medio-lateral sway (p=0.001), track length (p=0.05) and elliptical area (p=0.005), in tandem position. Conclusions: The cumulative presence of cardiovascular risk factors may contribute to impairment of balance in the elderly. This effect may be due to subclinical damage of that part of the nervous system controlling balance.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Reference

  1. Fujita T, Nakamura S, Ohue M et al. Effect of age on body sway assessed by computerized posturography. J Bone Miner Metab 2005; 23: 152–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Ghulyan V, Paolino M, Lopez C, Dumitrescu M, Lacour M. A new translational platform for evaluating aging or pathology-related postural disorders. Acta Otolaryngol 2005; 125: 607–17.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Tinetti ME, Speechley M, Ginter SF. Risk factors for falls among elderly persons living in the community. N Engl J Med 1988; 319: 1701–7.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Benjuya N, Melzer I, Kaplanski J. Aging-induced shifts from a reliance on sensory input to muscle cocontraction during balanced standing. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2004; 59: 166–71.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Brown LA, Gage WH, Polych MA, Sleik RJ, Winder TR. Central set influences on gait. Age-dependent effects of postural threat. Exp Brain Res 2002; 145: 286–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Gauchard GC, Gangloff P, Jeandel C, Perrin PP. Influence of regular proprioceptive and bioenergetic physical activities on balance control in elderly women. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2003; 58: M846–50.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Croog SH, Levine S, Testa MA et al. The effects of antihypertensive therapy on the quality of life. N Engl J Med 1986; 314: 1657–64.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Katz S, Moskowwitz RW, Jackson BA, Jaffe MW. Studies of illness in the aged. The index of ADL: a standardized measure of biological an phychosocial function. JAMA 1963; 185: 914–9.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Lawton MP, Brody EM. Assessment of older people: self-maintaining and instrumental activities of daily living. Gerontologist 1969; 9: 179–86.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Folstein MF, Folstein SE, McHugh PR. “Mini-mental state”. A practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician. J Psychiatr Res 1975; 12: 189–98.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Clark VA, Aneshensel CS, Frerichs RR, Morgan TM. Analysis of effects of sex and age in response to items on the CES-D scale. Psychiatry Res 1981; 5: 171–81.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Simonsick EM, Maffeo CE, Rogers SK et al. Methodology and feasibility of a home-based examination in disabled older women: the Women’s Health and Aging Study. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 1997; 52: M264–74.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Ferrucci L, Bandinelli S, Benvenuti E et al. Subsystems contributing to the decline in ability to walk: bridging the gap between epidemiology and geriatric practice in the InCHIANTI study. J Am Geriatr Soc 2000; 48: 1618–25.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Littell RC, Henry PR, Ammerman CB. Statistical analysis of repeated measures data using SAS procedures. J Anim Sci 1998; 76: 1216–31.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Bulpitt CJ, Fletcher AE, Thijs L et al. Symptoms reported by elderly patients with isolated systolic hypertension: baseline data from the SYST-EUR trial. Systolic Hypertension in Europe. Age Ageing 1999; 28: 15–22.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Esparza CM, Jauregui-Renaud K, Morelos CM et al. Systemic high blood pressure and inner ear dysfunction: a preliminary study. Clin Otolaryngol 2007; 32: 173–8.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Carpenter MG, Adkin AL, Brawley LR, Frank JS. Postural, physiological and psychological reactions to challenging balance: does age make a difference? Age Ageing 2006; 35: 298–303.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Deshpande N, Metter EJ, Bandinelli S, Lauretani F, Windham BG, Ferrucci L. Psychological, physical, and sensory correlates of fear of falling and consequent activity restriction in the elderly: the InCHIANTI study. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2008; 87: 354–62.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Borghi C, Modugno GC, Brandolini C, Pirodda A. Is tinnitus useful in early detection of incoming heart decompensation? Med Hypotheses 2006; 67: 437–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Pirodda A, Brandolini C, Carlo MG. Hypotension associated with autonomic dysfunction: a possible cause of vertigo? Med Hypotheses 2004; 63: 1086.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Abate M, Di Iorio A, Pini B et al. Effects of hypertension on balance assessed by computerized posturography in the elderly. Arch Gerontol Geriatr 2008 [Epub ahead of print].

  22. Vereeck L, Wuyts F, Truijen S, Van de HP. Clinical assessment of balance: normative data, and gender and age effects. Int J Audiol 2008; 47: 67–75.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Pereira CB, Strupp M, Holzleitner T, Brandt T. Smoking and balance: correlation of nicotine-induced nystagmus and postural body sway. Neuroreport 2001; 12: 1223–6.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Zingler VC, Denecke K, Jahn K et al. The effect of nicotine on perceptual, ocular motor, postural, and vegetative functions at rest and in motion. J Neurol 2007; 254: 1689–97.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Iki M, Ishizaki H, Aalto H, Starck J, Pyykko I. Smoking habits and postural stability. Am J Otolaryngol 1994; 15: 124–8.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Greve J, Alonso A, Bordini AC, Camanho GL. Correlation between body mass index and postural balance. Clinics 2007; 62: 717–20.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Teasdale N, Hue O, Marcotte J et al. Reducing weight increases postural stability in obese and morbid obese men. Int J Obes (Lond) 2007; 31: 153–60.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Yamamoto R, Kinoshita T, Momoki T et al. Postural sway and diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Diabetes Res Clin Pract 2001; 52: 213–21.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Sainsbury CA, Coleman J, Brady AJ, Connell JM, Hillier C, Petrie JR. Endothelium-dependent relaxation is resistant to inhibition of nitric oxide synthesis, but sensitive to blockade of calcium-activated potassium channels in essential hypertension. J Hum Hypertens 2007; 21: 808–14.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Doroszewska G, Kazmierczak H. [Hyperinsulinemia in vertigo, tinnitus and hearing loss]. Otolaryngol Pol 2002; 56: 57–62.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Hentschel F, Damian M, Krumm B, Froelich L. White matter lesions — age-adjusted values for cognitively healthy and demented subjects. Acta Neurol Scand 2007; 115: 174–80.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. van Harten B, Oosterman J, Muslimovic D, van Loon BJ, Scheltens P, Weinstein HC. Cognitive impairment and MRI correlates in the elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Age Ageing 2007; 36: 164–70.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Clinical Epidemiology and Geriatrics, Department of Medicine and Sciences of Aging, University “G. d’Annunzio”, Via dei Vestini 5, 66013, Chieti Scalo, Italy

    Angelo Di Iorio MD, PhD, Isabella Di Nicola, Marianna Marinelli, Marianna Guglielmi, Corrado Battaglini & Giuseppe Abate

  2. Casa Religiosa Antoniano, Centro Residenziale per anziani, Lanciano, Italy

    Angelo Di Iorio MD, PhD

  3. Postgraduate School of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Department of Medicine and Sciences of Aging, University “G. d’Annunzio”, Chieti, Italy

    Michele Abate

  4. Clinical Research Center, “G. d’Annunzio” University Foundation, Chieti, Italy

    Barbara Pini

Authors
  1. Angelo Di Iorio MD, PhD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Michele Abate
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Barbara Pini
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Isabella Di Nicola
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Marianna Marinelli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Marianna Guglielmi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Corrado Battaglini
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Giuseppe Abate
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Angelo Di Iorio MD, PhD.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Di Iorio, A., Abate, M., Pini, B. et al. Effects of vascular risk factors on balance assessed by computerized posturography in the elderly. Aging Clin Exp Res 21, 136–142 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03325221

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03325221

Keywords

Search

Navigation