Quantitative and qualitative assessment of body balance in active elderly women and their relation to health in general

Abstract

Purpose: to analyze the postural balance of independent elderly women and their relation with aspects of health, ages and quality of life. Methods: a total of 44 independent elderly women, classified according to the scales: Index of Independence in Daily Life Activities (DLA) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Life (IADL), aged 70.5 years (+6.64), submitted to the Foam-Laser Dynamic Posturography were used to evaluate the vestibular, proprioceptive and visual functions; the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) questionnaire on subjects with dizziness and the WHOQOL-Bref quality of life questionnaire. Results: the tests showed a significant difference between the changes in the posturographic evaluation and health aspects such as dizziness complaint (p = 0.02), metabolic diseases (p = 0.04), cardiovascular diseases (p = 0.02) and with the use of continuous medication (p = 0.03), self-reported. The older women presented lower scores in the functional domain of the DHI (p=0.02), showing a lower handicap in activities of daily living and the longer the quality of life in the WHOQOL-Bref psychological domain (p=0.04). Conclusion: the presence of dizziness and systemic diseases had a negative impact on postural balance and on the quality of life of the elderly women