ArticleBMC geriatrics2011
Lighting and perceptual cues: effects on gait measures of older adults at high and low risk for falls.
Article in BMC geriatrics, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 74 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of task-oriented training on balance, gait, and fall in older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2026Pooled it
- Effectiveness of sensor-based interventions in improving gait and balance performance in older adults: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2024Pooled it
- Gait disorder rehabilitation using vision and non-vision based sensors: a systematic review.Bosnian journal of basic medical sciences · 2012Pooled it
- Young, but not in the dark-The influence of reduced lighting on gait stability in middle-aged adults.PloS one · 2023Trial
- Multi-Task Assessment of Context-Specific Gait Changes to Virtual Reality-Based Visual Perturbations.The Laryngoscope · 2026Article
- Age-Friendly Environments for Healthy Ageing in Place: Refinement of a Multidimensional Index and Regional Disparities in South Korea.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Effects of Virtual Environmental Cues on Quiet Stance in Young Adults.Human factors · 2026Article
- When the home becomes a hazard: fall risks among older adults in Thailand's coastal rural communities.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Effect of COVID-19 on Falls in a Residential Care Facility for the Elderly: Longitudinal Observational Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Gait Metrics in Elderly Fallers and Non-Fallers with Varying Levels of Glaucoma: A Longitudinal Prospective Cohort Study.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Salient Targets and Fear of Falling Changed the Gait Pattern and Joint Kinematic of Older Adults.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Article
- Prevalence and Risk Factors of Sarcopenia among Older Adults Aged ≥65 Years Admitted to Daycare Centers of Taiwan: Using AWGS 2019 Guidelines.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Promoting Generalized Learning in Balance Recovery Interventions.Brain sciences · 2021Article
- A Guiding Nightlight Decreases Fear of Falling and Increases Sleep Quality of Community-Dwelling Older People: A Quantitative and Qualitative Evaluation.Gerontology · 2020Article
- Balance and gait in the elderly: A contemporary review.Laryngoscope investigative otolaryngology · 2019Review
- The Promise of Stochastic Resonance in Falls Prevention.Frontiers in physiology · 2018Review
- Light, sleep and circadian rhythms in older adults with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.Neurodegenerative disease management · 2017Review
- Mastoid vibration affects dynamic postural control during gait in healthy older adults.Scientific reports · 2017Article
- Standing Balance and Spatiotemporal Aspects of Gait Are Impaired Upon Nocturnal Awakening in Healthy Late Middle-Aged and Older Adults.Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe visual system plays an important role in maintaining balance. As a person ages, gait becomes slower and stride becomes shorter, especially in dimly lighted environments. Falls risk has been associated with reduced speed and increased gait variability.
methodsTwenty-four older adults (half identified at risk for falls) experienced three lighting conditions: pathway illuminated by 1) general ceiling-mounted fixtures, 2) conventional plug-in night lights and 3) plug-in night lights supplemented by laser lines outlining the pathway. Gait measures were collected using the GAITRite© walkway system.
resultsParticipants performed best under the general ceiling-mounted light system and worst under the night light alone. The pathway plus night lights increased gait velocity and reduced step length variability compared to the night lights alone in those at greater risk of falling.
conclusionsPractically, when navigating in more challenging environments, such as in low-level ambient illumination, the addition of perceptual cues that define the horizontal walking plane can potentially reduce falls risks in older adults.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.