Age and sex variation in the results of the 2hand test in an adult population

Abstract

Purpose The aim of the present pilot study was to assess sex and age differences in sensory-motor coordination by examining eye-hand coordination in an elderly population. Methods. The sample consisted of 529 participants (158 men and 371 women) aged over 50 years from Poland. Participants performed the 2HAND test, with the results analyzed by two-way ANOVA. The three test parameters (total mean duration, total mean error duration, and coordination difficulty) of the test were treated as dependent variables while sex and age (separated into 5-year age groups) were the independent variables. Results. In each 5-year age group, differences between the analyzed parameters were higher in females. Significant age differences were found in the means of total mean duration and total mean error duration. Neither of the above parameters showed significant differences for sex. Conclusions. The values of all the parameters measuring eye-hand coordination showed a gradual deterioration with age. The pilot study warrants additional data collection, where large-scale quantitative research may help in the development of suitable prevention strategies to slow the impact of aging on eye-hand coordination abilities in the elderly. © 2014 Human Movement.