title: Gender differences in platform measures of balance in rural community-dwelling elders.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to establish the age-related reference values of the platform measures of balance, which would serve as a baseline for comparing the postural insecurity of patients, and to clarify the characteristics of balance in community-dwelling elders. A total of 343 participants consisting of 107 males and 236 females, aged 55--83 years, were investigated in this study. The movement of the center of pressure (COP) was measured using a stable force platform to quantify postural stability. The examination was performed twice, each lasting for 30s, under open-eyes and closed-eyes conditions. In both genders, the movement of the COP showed a significant increase with age. Males showed a stronger positive correlation between age and platform measures and significantly higher levels of amplitude when compared with females. The movement of the COP increased under closed-eyes condition, particularly in males. The characteristics of balance differed between the genders. That is, males swayed more under both open-eyes and closed-eyes conditions, and were more influenced by visual deprivation than females.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Nagoya University School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8550, Japan. tm1998@qc4.so-net.ne.jp
authors.forename: Tetsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Masui
authors.forename: Yukiharu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.forename: Yukihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsuyama
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sakano
authors.forename: Masashi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kawasaki
authors.forename: Sadao
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Suzuki
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*; D012016:Reference Values; D012424:Rural Population; D012737:Sex Factors; D014796:Visual Perception