RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BALANCE AND ABNORMALITIES IN CEREBRAL MAGNETIC-RESONANCE-IMAGING IN OLDER ADULTS

Background: Falling is a major cause of disability and morbidity among older adults. Because poor balance is a major reason for frequent fal ls, assessment of balance and its risk factors are important. In this study, we postulated that cerebral changes identified on magnetic reso nance (MR) imaging are related to balance, and that older adults with balance problems would have significantly greater prevalence of such b rain abnormalities than older adults without balance problems. Design and Measurements: Several measures of balance were examined in more th an 700 community-dwelling older men and women, blacks and whites. Bala nce measures included dynamic posturography, functional reach, Romberg and 1-foot stand tests, tandem stand, and 1-foot stand. Cerebral MR i maging assessments included ventricular size, sulcal widening, white m atter disease, and ischemic infarctions. Cardiovascular disease and hy pertension were determined and controlled for in the analyses. Results : A summary of the balance measures was significantly related to each of the 4 MR imaging measures, with those with poorer balance having mo re disease. The strongest associations with balance were seen for whit e matter disease and ventricular size. All but the ischemic infarction variable remained significantly associated with balance after adjustm ents for sex, race, age, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension. Con clusion: Cerebral changes identified by MR imaging are associated with poorer balance among older adults.