Institute of Sport Exercise & Health, Division of Surgery & Interventional Science, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Musculoskeletal Science and Sports Medicine Research Centre, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, United Kingdom.
Pediatrics. 2022 Jul 1;150(1). doi: 10.1542/peds.2021-055861.
Balance ability underlies most physical movement across life, with particular importance for older adults. No study has investigated if balance ability is established in childhood nor if associations are independent of adult factors. We investigated associations between balance performance in early (age 10) and midlife (age 46), and whether associations were independent of contributors to adult balance.
Up to 6024 individuals from the 1970 British Cohort Study were included. At age 10, static (1-legged stand) and dynamic (backward toe-to-heel walk) balance were categorized as poor, medium, or high. Eyes open and closed 1-legged balance performance (max: 30 seconds) was assessed at age 46 with 5 categories.
Poor static balance at age 10 was strongly associated with worse balance ability at age 46. Relative to the highest balance group at age 46 (ie, eyes open and closed for 30 seconds), those with poor static balance had a 7.07 (4.92-10.16) greater risk of being in the poorest balance group (ie, eyes open <15 seconds). Associations were robust to adjustment for childhood illness, cognition, and socioeconomic position and adult measures of height, BMI, education, exercise, word recall, and grip strength (adjusted relative risk: 5.04 [95% confidence interval: 3.46-7.37]). Associations between dynamic balance at age 10 and balance at age 46 were weaker (adjusted relative risk) of the poorest balance group: 1.84 [1.30-2.62]).
Early childhood may represent an important period for maturation of postural strategies involved in balance, indicating the potential for early intervention and policy changes alongside existing interventions that currently target older adults.
平衡能力是贯穿一生大部分身体活动的基础，对老年人尤为重要。目前尚无研究调查平衡能力是否在儿童期就已确立，以及关联是否独立于成人因素。我们调查了个体在儿童早期（10 岁）和中年（46 岁）的平衡表现之间的关联，以及这些关联是否独立于影响成人平衡的因素。
1970 年英国队列研究中最多有 6024 人参与了此项研究。10 岁时，静态（单腿站立）和动态（向后足尖触脚跟走）平衡能力分为差、中、优。46 岁时，睁眼和闭眼单腿平衡能力（最长 30 秒）评估为 5 个等级。
10 岁时静态平衡能力差与 46 岁时平衡能力差密切相关。与 46 岁时平衡能力最佳组（即睁眼和闭眼 30 秒）相比，静态平衡能力差者处于最差平衡能力组（即睁眼<15 秒）的风险高 7.07 倍（95%置信区间：4.92-10.16）。调整儿童期疾病、认知和社会经济地位以及成人身高、BMI、教育、运动、单词回忆和握力后，关联仍然稳健（调整后的相对风险：5.04[95%置信区间：3.46-7.37]）。10 岁时动态平衡与 46 岁时平衡之间的关联较弱（调整后的相对风险：1.84[1.30-2.62]）。
儿童早期可能是平衡所涉及姿势策略成熟的重要时期，这表明有可能在现有针对老年人的干预措施之外，早期干预和政策改变。
