Neither leg muscle strength nor balance are associated with the incidence of falls in middle-aged women: A 5-year population-based prospective study

Balance ability and all-cause death in middle-aged and older adults: A prospective cohort study

Objective

The present study aimed to explore the relationship between balance ability and all-cause death in middle-aged and elderly people and to provide a basis for formulating a balanced training plan for middle-aged and older people in China.

Methods

Based on data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) carried out in the years 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2018, 18,888 participants aged 45 years and above were included. Cox proportional hazard models were designed to evaluate the effect of balance ability on death events.

Results

The present study found that there was an association between balance ability and death among middle-aged and older people. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression model analysis showed that the risk of death decreased by 10% (HR = 0.90,95% CI: 0.85-0.95) for every second increase in balance ability. With balance ability <10 s as the reference group, the adjusted HRs were 0.61 (0.44-0.85) among middle-aged and elderly people. The death density of balance ability of <10 s was 73.87 per thousand person-years higher than that of ≥10 s. There was no interaction between balance ability and chronic disease, overweight, and obesity (P > 0.05).

Conclusion

The risk of all-cause death in middle-aged and older people increased with the decrease in balance ability and showed no statistical significance between chronic disease, overweight, and obesity, as corroborated by the present study.

Dance as an Intervention to Reduce Fall Risk in Older Adults: A Systematic Review With a Meta-Analysis

The purpose of this study was to summarize the evidence from randomized clinical trials on the effects of dance on fall risk in older adults through a systematic review with meta-analysis. Fall risk was assessed through timed up and go, Berg Balance Scale, or one-leg stand tests. Data are presented as mean differences for timed up and go test and standardized mean differences for Berg Balance Scale and one-leg stand tests between treatments with 95% confidence intervals, and calculations were performed using random effects models. Significance was accepted when p < .05. A significant difference was found between dance interventions and the control groups in the general analysis of fall risk assessed by timed up and go (mean differences: -1.446 s; 95% confidence interval [-1.586, -1.306]; p < .001) and Berg Balance Scale and one-leg stand tests (standardized mean differences: 0.737; 95% confidence interval [0.508, 0.966]; p < .001) in favor of the intervention group. Different dance interventions decreased the fall risk in older practitioners.