Postural balance function is an important factor which explains and predicts falls or fall anxiety in older adults. The relationship between the one-leg standing test and cognitive measures is not sufficiently clear. In this study, we focused on body image operation as a cognition measure and aimed to examine the relationship between the one-leg standing test with eyes open and the body image operation test, in order to elucidate the features of the one-leg standing test from the point of how the retrieval and transformation of body representation can be measured. Sixty-eight adults aged 60–86 years (70.91 ± 5.81 years, 30 males) were evaluated in postural sway tests under two conditions, standing on one leg with their eyes open and standing on both legs with their eyes closed. Movement distance and area of body sway were automatically measured by the posturography. They also participated in a video game test of body image operation, which measured the response time of recall or transformation of their body image. The correlation coefficient between the area of body sway in the one-leg standing test and the response time in the body image operation test was significant (r=.339, p<.01). On the other hand, the correlation coefficient between the length of body sway in the closed eyes standing test and the operational speed in body image operation test was significant (r=.399, p<.01). These results did not change when partial correlation coefficients were calculated excluding the effect of the shape of the sole. We conclude that the one-leg standing test with eyes open includes body image operation. The one-leg standing test may be an important contribution to the screening of both motor and cognitive functions, after standardizing the test and developing a test battery to examine the equilibrium function of older adults.
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