Objective: To determine (1) whether obese older adults had higher prevalence of falls and ambulatory stumbling, impaired balance and lower health-related quality of life (HRQL) than their normal weight counterparts, and (2) whether the falls and balance measures were associated with HRQL in obese adults.
Methods:Subjects who had a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30 kg/m 2 were classified into an obese group (n = 128) while those with BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 kg/m 2 were included into a normal weight group (n = 88). Functional tests were performed to assess balance, and questionnaires were administered to assess history of falls, ambulatory stumbling, and HRQL.
Results:The obese group reported a higher prevalence of falls (27% vs. 15%), and ambulatory stumbling (32% vs. 14%) than the normal weight group. Furthermore, the obese group had lower HRQL, (p ≤ 0.05) for physical function (63 ± 27 vs. 75 ± 26; mean ± SD), role-physical (59 ± 40 vs. 74 ± 37), vitality (58 ± 23 vs. 66 ± 20), bodily pain (62 ± 25 vs. 74 ± 21) and general health (64 ± 19 vs. 70 ± 18). In the obese group, a history of falls was related (p ≤ 0.05) to lower scores in 4 domains of HRQL, and ambulatory stumbling was related (p ≤ 0.01) to 7 domains.
Conclusion:In middle-aged and older adults, obesity was associated with a higher prevalence of falls and stumbling during ambulation, as well as lower values in multiple domains of HRQL. Furthermore, a history of falls and ambulatory stumbling were related to lower measures of HRQL in obese adults.
Background: Physical activity is associated with health-related quality of life (HRQL) in clinical populations, but less is known whether this relationship exists in older men and women who are healthy. Thus, this study determined if physical activity was related to HRQL in apparently healthy, older subjects.
To evaluate balance in women with multiple sclerosis (MS) who have low disability and minimal clinical impairments as measured by the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), and compare them with healthy age-matched controls. Patients were aged between 18 and 64 years; 67 individuals with MS (μ=44.0 ± 1.2 years) and 45 healthy controls (μ=40.4 ± 2.4 years). All patients had an EDSS score of 3.5 or below. Both the groups underwent a series of balance measures using the NeuroCom Balance Master. The mean EDSS for the MS group was 1.8. For balance, there was a significant difference between the two groups, with the MS group performing worse on the modified clinical test for sensory integration of balance measures standing on a foam surface with eyes closed (P<0.01). A significant difference was also found for the unilateral stance with eyes closed and eyes open, and the tandem walk, with the MS group showing significantly more sway during those tests (P<0.01). The MS group did significantly worse when compared with the healthy age-matched controls on the balance measures, indicating greater postural instability despite the low disability measured by EDSS.
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