Balance problems can be a sign of mild cognitive impairment, a condition characterized by small changes in cognitive ability that can sometimes lead to Alzheimer’s. A new test can accurately measure useful parameters and serve as a population screening.
The discovery
A nutrigenomics research team at Tsukuba University School of Medicine in Japan has developed a new test to measure balance performance and combined the results with commonly used tests to screen cognitive abilities. The team found that the poor scores on the physical tests matched those on the cognitive tests. An observation that is not new, but is important because an earlier diagnosis of cognitive impairment allows us to anticipate a possible future Alzheimer’s diagnosis, since people with cognitive impairment are at greater risk of progressing the disease.
The comment
The study, recently published in BMC Geriatrics, looked at healthy volunteers aged 56 to 75 with no apparent cognitive impairment. “The results were surprising – explained the study’s lead author, Professor Naoya Yahagi –: we found that balance scores were strongly associated with cognitive impairment. Since changes in vestibular function have been associated with both cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease, we aimed to develop a new method to efficiently assess such changes in the general population. This new scale can be a useful tool to study the population,” says Professor Yahagi.
To stand on one leg
Balancing on a wobble board
risk of other diseases
The test is simple and inexpensive and relies on a foam balance board used by many sports video game platforms.
It’s not the first time that balance has been highlighted as an important factor in predicting future health: a study by a Brazilian team found that 20% of 1,700 elderly people tested with a balance test could not balance for 10 seconds and that disability was associated with a doubled risk of death from any cause within 10 years. Balance is therefore not only a sign of cognitive problems, but of general ones. Loss of balance can actually be caused by a variety of factors, many of which are related to age and “frailty” particularly in the elderly.
Balance on one leg
Stand up and sit down from a chair
Waist less than halfway up
Look for liver spots on the arm
Set the alarm during the day