Inability to balance on one leg for 10 seconds linked to early death: study

Hyderabad: The inability to balance on one leg for 10 seconds is linked to a risk of early death, a new study claims. The study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine links the inability to balance on one leg for 10 seconds to almost double the risk of death from any cause in […]

Hyderabad: The inability to balance on one leg for 10 seconds is linked to a risk of early death, a new study claims.

The study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine links the inability to balance on one leg for 10 seconds to almost double the risk of death from any cause in the next 10 years.

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The researchers, led by Dr. Claudio Gil Araujo from Rio de Janeiro, suggested that a balance test should be a part of the routine checkup for older people.

The study was conducted among 1,702 people aged between 51 and 75 over a 12-year-period. The participants were first asked to lift one foot and place it behind the back side of the other lower leg while keeping their arms by their sides and looking forward. One in five participants failed the test in their three attempts.

In the next 10 years, 123 participants died of various causes.

“After considering variables such as age, sex, and underlying conditions, the inability to stand unsupported on one leg for 10 seconds was linked with 84 per cent increased risk of death within a decade,” the study said.

This is an observational study, and as such, can’t establish a cause. As participants were all white Brazilians, the findings might not be more widely applicable to other ethnicities and nations, caution the researchers.

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