Body balance on Horus® computerized posturography and body measurements in healthy children.
Ândrea de Melo Boaz, Rudimar Dos Santos Riesgo, Pricila Sleifer
PMID 40136123WHAT IT FOUND
In healthy children aged 4 to 6 years, height, weight and BMI were linked to balance test results, but not consistently across ages.
Record growth measures when interpreting pediatric balance testing.
Key findings
01Weight-for-length was not associated with stability limit, but significant differences appeared in the first three conditions for 4-year-old children.
02BMI showed more associations with balance test results at 4 years, one association at 5 years, and none at 6 years.
03BMI outside the expected range was common and more frequent with age: 26 children at 4 years, 50.2% at 5 years, and 58.6% at 6 years.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only healthy, typically developing children were included, so the findings may not apply to children with hearing, vision, neurological, cognitive or balance disorders. The design was cross-sectional and compared groups at one time point, so it reports associations rather than tested effects. Many separate comparisons were made across age groups, sensory conditions and balance measures, and significant differences were not consistent across all analyses. The authors noted that data were collected from November 2020 to April 2021, which may have affected activity levels and BMI findings. The Horus platform and software were adapted by the manufacturer for the study, so results may not transfer directly to standard clinical equipment.
Declared interests
The authors reported no financial support and nothing to declare. The Horus platform and software were adapted by the manufacturer for the study.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the significant differences as proof that body size causes balance problems. The study was cross-sectional and the associations were inconsistent across ages, so they only show that height, weight and BMI can change how balance test results should be interpreted.