Can you stand on one leg for ten seconds?

The inability to stand on one leg for 10 seconds between the ages of 50 and 60 is associated with almost double the risk of death from any cause over the next ten years. This is clear in a study published in the “British Journal of Sports Medicine”.

Unlike aerobic capacity and muscular strength and flexibility, balance tends to be maintained reasonably well until the sixth decade of life, when it begins to decline relatively quickly, researchers say.

However, balance assessment is not routinely included in health screenings of middle-aged and older men and women, possibly because there is no standardized test for it and little robust data linking it to different clinical outcomes. they add.

Given this reality, researchers wanted to know whether a balance test could be a reliable indicator of a person's risk of dying from any cause in the next decade.

The investigators were based on participants in the CLINIMEX exercise cohort study. This was established in 1994 to assess associations between various measures of physical fitness, exercise-related variables, and conventional cardiovascular risk factors with health problems and ultimately death.

The current analysis included 1,702 participants aged 51 to 75 years (average 61 years) at their first check-up between February 2009 and December 2020. About two-thirds of participants (68%) were men.

Subjects' weight and various skinfold measurements were measured, as well as waist size. Details of medical history were also provided. Only those with stable gait were included in the study.

As part of the check-up, participants were asked to stand on one leg for 10 seconds without any additional support.

To improve test standardization, participants were asked to place the forefoot of the free foot on the back of the opposite leg, keeping their arms at their sides and looking straight ahead. Up to three attempts with either foot were allowed.

In total, about one in five participants failed the test. The inability to do so increased with age, more or less doubling in subsequent five-year intervals from age 51 to 55 onwards.

The proportions that could not stand on one leg for 10 seconds were: almost 5% between 51 and 55 years old; 8% between 56-60 years old; just under 18% among those aged 61 to 65 and just under 37% among those aged 66 to 70.

More than half (about 54%) of people aged 71 to 75 were unable to complete the test. In other words, people in this age group were more than 11 times more likely to fail the test than people 20 years younger.

During an average follow-up period of seven years, 123 (7%) people died: cancer (32%); cardiovascular disease (30%); respiratory disease (9%); and complications from Covid-19 (7%).

There were no clear temporal trends in deaths, or differences in causes, between those who were able to complete the test and those who were not.

But the proportion of deaths among those who failed the test was significantly higher: 17.5% versus 4.5%, reflecting an absolute difference of just under 13%.

In general, those who failed the test were in worse health: a greater proportion were obese and/or had heart disease, high blood pressure and an unhealthy lipid profile.

Furthermore, type 2 diabetes was three times more common in this group: 38% vs. 13%.

After accounting for age, sex and underlying conditions, the inability to stand on one leg for 10 seconds was associated with an 84% elevated risk of death from any cause over the next decade.

Despite the impressive data, it is an observational study and as such cannot establish causation. Because the participants were all white Brazilians, the findings may not be applicable to other ethnicities and nationalities, the researchers note.

Information on potentially influential factors, including recent history of falls, physical activity levels, diet, smoking, and use of medications that may interfere with balance, was not available.

However, the researchers concluded that the 10-second balance test “provides rapid, objective feedback to the patient and healthcare professionals regarding static balance” and that the test “adds useful information about mortality risk.” women.