Postural balance and its sensory-motor correlates in 75-year-old men and women: a cross-national comparative study.

Background. There are no earlier cross-national comparative studies analyzing the functioning of the posture control mechanisms and its sensory-motor correlates in elderly subjects. We investigated whether there are differences in balance between elderly subjects living in different geographical areas, and analyzed the sensory-motor associates of balance in men and women separately. Method. Using a force platform method, the functioning of the posture control system under three standardized conditions (normal standing, eyes open; normal standing, eyes closed; and tandem standing, eyes open) was studied among samples of 75-year-old residents in three Nordic localities, namely Glostrup in Den…