地域在住高齢者の身体動揺コントロールにおける視覚情報の効果

開眼及び閉眼時の身体動揺量の比と差の検討

抄録

This study investigated age-related changes of how visual information affects control of body sway in community-dwelling older adults. The subjects were 637 older adults (263 males, 374 females) aged 67 to 91 years living in Nangai Village in Japan. The subjects, with shoes on, stood stationary and upright on a force platform with their feet together (Romberg stance) for 20 seconds with eyes open and eyes closed, respectively. Body sway length and body sway area were calculated as magnitude of body sway. The four parameters used to examine the effect of visual information on postural control were calculated. They were body sway length difference, body sway area difference, body sway length ratio, and body sway area ratio.
The body sway length ratio and the body sway area ratio did not change with advancing age. The body sway length difference and body sway area difference changed with age. They increased with age from age 67 to 79, and then they decreased beyond 80 years of age. Measurements of all of the four parameters in the male subjects were significantly higher than those in the female subjects.