Balance and age in the sighted and blind.

This study evaluated the usefulness of a balance test with eyes open and closed to index postural control capability. Experiment 1 was a one-year longitudinal study of 225 subjects aged 50 to 82 years. Comparing the two conditions, balance with eyes open had higher reliability, had greater sensitivity to aging effects, correlated stronger with functional age indices (vital capacity and forced expiratory volume), and showed greater sensitivity to the effects of physical fitness training. Experiment 2 included 22 visually impaired subjects aged 19 to 84 years. Minimally sighted subjects balanced for longer than fully blind subjects, but no differences in balance were found between subjects blind from birth versus those with acquired vision loss. The findings demonstrate the importance of vision to balance and indicate that balance with eyes open is a valid and sensitive test for clinical and research purposes.