Impact of obesity in elderly patients with postural instability (original) (raw)

Abstract

Objective

The aim of the study is to assess whether obesity affects balance in elderly patients with postural instability.

Study design

It is a case–control study, with cases defined by BMI ≥30 kg/m2, and developed in a third level university hospital.

Methods

We included 135 patients aged 65 years old or more who presented postural instability. Balance assessment was through the sensory organisation test (SOT), limits of stability (LOS) and rhythmic weight shift (RWS) of computerised dynamic posturography (CDP) and the modified timed up-and-go (TUG) test. The patients also completed the Dizziness Handicap Inventory and short Falls Efficacy Scale-International questionnaire.

Results

Patients with obesity took longer to perform the modified TUG and required more steps. Also these patients had poorer scores in the subjective tests. In the CDP there were no significant differences in the SOT nor the LOS, and only there was a statistical significant difference in the anterior-posterior directional control of the RWS. Obese patients have a higher risk of fallings compared to non-obese patients.

Conclusion

In essence, our results indicate that obesity interferes in the balance of elderly patients with postural instability, putting them at a greater risk of fallings, performing worse dynamic tasks and feeling more disabled. Although continued education on training balance may be useful in older population, since the obese group shows more rate of fallers, rehabilitation programmes focus on dynamic tasks in these patients could be useful to reduce their fall risk and improve their quality of life.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a grant of the National Institute of Health Carlos III (National R&D&I Plan, dossier PI11/01328).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otolaryngology, University Hospital Lucus Augusti, Calle Dr. Ulises Romero, 1, 27003, Lugo, Spain
    Marcos Rossi-Izquierdo
  2. Department of Otolaryngology, Complexo Hospitalario, Universitario de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
    Sofía Santos-Pérez, Ana Faraldo-García, Isabel Vaamonde-Sánchez-Andrade, María Del-Río-Valeiras, Antonio Lirola-Delgado & Andrés Soto-Varela
  3. Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Hospital Clínico Universitario, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Santiago (IDIS), Santiago de Compostela, Spain
    Pilar Gayoso-Diz

Authors

  1. Marcos Rossi-Izquierdo
  2. Sofía Santos-Pérez
  3. Ana Faraldo-García
  4. Isabel Vaamonde-Sánchez-Andrade
  5. Pilar Gayoso-Diz
  6. María Del-Río-Valeiras
  7. Antonio Lirola-Delgado
  8. Andrés Soto-Varela

Corresponding author

Correspondence toMarcos Rossi-Izquierdo.

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Conflict of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Human and Animal Rights

The experimental protocol was designed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (1964) and was approved by the Independent Ethics Committee of Galicia (protocol 2010/139).

All study participants provided informed consent.

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Rossi-Izquierdo, M., Santos-Pérez, S., Faraldo-García, A. et al. Impact of obesity in elderly patients with postural instability.Aging Clin Exp Res 28, 423–428 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-015-0414-4

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