ReviewDiagnostics (Basel, Switzerland)2020
Diagnostic Balance Tests for Assessing Risk of Falls and Distinguishing Older Adult Fallers and Non-Fallers: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.
Review in Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers, 2 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
41 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 75 citations in OpenAlex.
- Interpretable and explainable artificial intelligence for wearable sensor-based fall risk assessment in older adults: a systematic review with considerations for prosthetics and orthotics.Frontiers in computational neuroscience · 2026Pooled it
- Is Postural Control Affected in People with Patellofemoral Pain and Should it be Part of Rehabilitation? A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis.Sports medicine - open · 2022Pooled it
- Benefits of Virtual Reality Program and Motor Imagery Training on Balance and Fall Efficacy in Isolated Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2022Trial
- Retinal Vessel Traits and the Development of Balance Impairment: The Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2026Article
- Reliability of a Home-Based Smartphone Balance Assessment in Healthy Middle-Aged and Older Adults.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Relationship Between Odds of Reporting a Fall in the Past Year and Health Literacy Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults in Japan: A Preliminary Cross-Sectional Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Technical and Clinical Validation of a Portable Optical Fibre Balance Mat for Quantifying Postural Sway in Older Adults.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Comparison of plantar pressure distribution, balance and functional parameters in older adults with high and low fall risk: a cross-sectional study.Irish journal of medical science · 2026Article
- Bone Mineral Density and the Risk of Fracture According to eGFR in Postmenopausal Women.Journal of the American Society of Nephrology : JASN · 2026Article
- Postural Balance and Human Movement: An Integrative Framework for Mechanisms, Assessment, and Functional Implications.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Does Regional Muscle Distribution Predict Functional Capacity? Sex-Specific Insights from Bioimpedance and Performance Testing.Muscles (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Translation and Population-Based Validation of the Arabic Version of the Fullerton Advanced Balance Scale.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Association between diabetes mellitus and impaired single-leg stance in patients with chronic liver disease: A cross-sectional study.PloS one · 2026Article
- Clinical estimates of three physiologic capacities explain a majority of unipedal stance time.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2025Article
- Frailty is associated with a history of falls among mobility-limited older adults-cross-sectional multivariate analysis from the BIOFRAIL study.European geriatric medicine · 2025Observational
- Development of an Exercise Rehabilitation Functional Group for Individualized Exercise After Lumbar Spine Surgery.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Article
- Examination of Factors Associated with Self-Reported Cane Use among Community-Dwelling Older Adults.Annals of geriatric medicine and research · 2025Article
- The balance stabilising benefit of social touch: Influence of an individual's age and the partner's relative body characteristics.PloS one · 2025Article
- The prevalence and correlates of falls in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: cross-sectional study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
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 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Falls are a major cause of injury and morbidity in older adults. To reduce the incidence of falls, a systematic assessment of the risk of falling is of paramount importance. The purpose of this systematic review was to provide a comprehensive comparison of the diagnostic balance tests used to predict falls and for distinguishing older adults with and without a history of falls. We conducted a systematic review of the studies in which instrumented (force plate body sway assessment) or other non-instrumented balance tests were used. We analyzed the data from 19 prospective and 48 retrospective/case-control studies. Among the non-instrumented tests, the single-leg stance test appears to be the most promising for discrimination between fallers and non-fallers. In terms of body sway measures, the center-of-pressure area was most consistently associated with falls. No evidence was found for increased benefit of the body sway test when cognitive tasks were added, or the vision was eliminated. While our analyses are limited due to the unbalanced representation of different test and outcome measures across studies, we can recommend the single-leg test for the assessment of the risk of falling, and the measurements of body sway for a more comprehensive assessment.
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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.