Efeitos do envelhecimento sobre o equilíbrio funcional em sujeitos saudáveis

• Main Authors: Jéssica Mascena de Medeiros, Yanne Salviano Pereira, Danilo de Macêdo Moura, Suenny Marrocos de Lima, Catarina de Oliveira Sousa, Palloma Rodrigues de Andrade, José Jamacy de Almeida Ferreira, Heleodório Honorato dos Santos
• Format: Article
• Language: Portuguese
• Published: Universidade Nove de Julho 2013-01-01
• Series: ConScientiae Saúde
• Online Access: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=92928018009

Introduction: The health status and underlying risk factors for prevention and treatment of diseases in the elderly are a prominent issue in public health. Objective: To compare the effects of aging on functional balance of healthy subjects in three age groups. Methods: By means of the Timed Up and Go Test (TUGT) and Berg Balance Scale (BBS), we analyzed the functional balance of 71 subjects divided into three groups: young group (YG), middle age group (MAG) and elderly group (EG). We performed a one-way Anova followed by post hoc Tukey, considering an α of 5%. Results: In the TUGT there is significant difference between GJ x GMI (P<0.05), GJ x GI (P<0.01) and GMI x GI (P<0.01), and in BBS between GJ x GI (P<0.01) and GMI x GI (P<0.05), and between genders (P<0.05). Conclusion: The functional balance decreased with aging, especially from the third decade of life.