Age-related changes in standing balance: evidence of contributing factors from across the life course

From getting out of bed in the morning to standing, sitting and walking throughout the day, balance is a crucial component of everyday life. It underlies nearly every physical movement at all stages in life from infancy to older age. Despite this universal truth, balance is a frequently overlooked aspect of physical health. There is strong evidence that cognitive ability plays an important role in successful balance, by combining sensory and motor signals. The MRC National Survey of Health and Development offers a unique opportunity to study these relationships. Data on health and life have been collected from over 5,000 individuals in the UK since their birth in March 1946. The proposed project will examine how factors across life, with a specific focus on cognition, are associated with standing balance in mid and later life. Project findings could help shape primary prevention and health policies by identifying what contributes to poor balance and subsequent fall risk. Helping maintain independence with ageing at the individual level should directly impact on increasing costs associated with age-related impairments at the population level.