title: Postural sway, falls, and cognitive status: a cross-sectional study among older adults.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cognitive impairment-related changes in postural sway increase fall risk among older adults. Better understanding this association could be helpful for fall prevention.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine the center-of-pressure (COP) velocity association with cognitive status and history of falls, in cognitively healthy individuals (CHI), patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease (MMAD).
  
  
  METHODS
  Six hundred and eleven older community-dwellers (77.2 ± 7.9 years; 51.8% men) were separated into CHI, MCI, and MMAD participants. By computing the average absolute maximal velocity (AAMV), the bounding limits of COP velocity dynamics were determined while participants were asked to maintain quiet stance on a force platform with eyes open or with eyes closed. Age, gender, history of falls, body mass index, medications, handgrip strength, Timed Up & Go score were used as covariates.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The multivariate ANCOVA, with AAMV in eyes open and eyes closed conditions as dependent variables, showed that the highest AAMVs that bound the COP velocity dynamics of postural sway were associated with cognitive impairment (p = 0.048) (i.e., lowest limits in CHI and MCI as compared with MMAD) and falls (p = 0.033) (i.e., highest limits in fallers).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings identified the bounding limits of COP velocity as a hallmark feature of cognitive impairment-related changes in postural sway, in particular for MMAD. This point is of special interest for clinical balance assessment and fall prevention in MMAD patients in order to plan long-term targeted fall-prevention programs.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory "Motricité, Interactions, Performance", University of Nantes, Nantes, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Baptiste
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Mignardot
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Division of Geriatric Medicine, UNAM, Angers University Hospital, Angers, France.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Beauchet
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Division of Geriatric Medicine, UNAM, Angers University Hospital, Angers, France Robarts Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Cédric
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Annweiler
authors.affiliation: Laboratory "Motricité, Interactions, Performance", University of Nantes, Nantes, France.
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cornu
authors.affiliation: Laboratory "Motricité, Interactions, Performance", University of Nantes, Nantes, France.
authors.forename: Thibault
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Deschamps
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls; D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D004856:Postural Balance; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014785:Vision, Ocular
keywords: Accidental falls; Alzheimer's disease; mild cognitive impairment; postural balance