Ability to Balance on One Leg May Reflect Stroke Risk

Can you balance on one leg? New research suggests it may reflect a person’s brain health and their risk for having a stroke.

Struggling to balance on one leg for 20 seconds or longer was linked to an increased risk for small blood pressure damage in the brain and reduced cognitive function in otherwise healthy people.

“Our study found that the ability to balance on one leg is an important test for brain health,” said Yasuharu Tabara, Ph.D., lead study author and associate professor at the Center for Genomic Medicine at Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine in Kyoto, Japan. “Individuals showing poor balance on one leg should receive increased attention, as this may indicate an increased risk for brain disease and cognitive decline.”

Nearly !,600 people whose average age was 67 participated in the study. They were each asked to stand with their eyes open and one leg raised. The maximum time for keeping the leg raised was 60 seconds. People in the study performed this test twice and the better of the two times was used in the study analysis. Cerebral small vessel disease was assessed using brain magnetic resonance imaging.

Researchers found that the inability to balance one one leg for longer than 20 seconds was associated with cerebral small vessel disease – small infarctions without symptoms.

While previous studies have looked at the connection between gait and physical abilities and the risk of stroke, this study closely examined how long a person can stand on one leg as an indication of other overall brain health.

“One-leg standing time is a simple measure of postural instability and might be a consequence of the presence of brain abnormalities,” said Tabara.

Source: American Heart Association

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