Detection of Balance in the Elderly Under the Influence of Stress

Summary

The aging process involves physiological changes in organs and tissues that can evolve towards fragility and increased risk of falls. Falls, which can be one of the adverse results of frailty in older people, are the second leading cause of death worldwide. When an elderly person falls, it entails not only hospitalization, immobilization, and the consequent deterioration, but also usually causes fear of falling again, which can also lead to the onset of disability. The inherent aging process can be linked to the deterioration of postural control and balance, posing serious health problems. In falls in the elderly, both sensorimotor and cognitive functions are affected, the functioning of which is degraded to a greater extent by anxiety and stress. Nowadays, more extensive, and more precise research is needed in the study of the interactions between cognition, stress, and postural control in the context of postural instability and falls in older adults.

The purpose of the DEPIE Project is to detect whether neuromuscular changes that occur when exposed to stressful situations can affect the postural and motor control of the elderly.

To this end, all participants will undergo the same intervention. Firstly, they will all take a baseline cognitive and physical assessment. Afterwards, they will take the experimental session, which will consist of a baseline test and an experimental test. During the baseline test, participants will visualize International Affective Picture System (IAPS) images of low arousal and during the experimental test of high arousal. Finally, physical assessment tests will be repeated.

Young and older adults will be tested. Additionally, sub-analyses will be conducted within the elderly group differentiating the degree of cognitive impairment and functional dependence.

The primary outcome measures will be surface electromyography, pressures on the floor, activity on manipulation, and balance.

The secondary outcome measures will be heart rate variability, respiratory rate and the visual analogue scale on unease after visualisation of the images.

Conditions

• Balance

Interventions

OTHER

Stress

All participants will perform a baseline test in which they will first be asked to visualize low-arousal IAPS images for three minutes while seated in a chair, and then get up, walk to a table with two bottles, transfer liquid from one bottle to the other, return to the starting chair and sit down again. Subsequently, they will perform an experimental test, where they will repeat the same movements as in the baseline test after visualizing high-arousal IAPS images for three minutes. In addition, IAPS images will continue to be projected in the background while participants perform the described motor tasks.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• European Union

  collaborator OTHER

• Castilla-La Mancha Health Service

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Alcala

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Susana N Núñez, PhD. Associate Professor · University of Alcalá

• Bernardo A Alarcos, PhD. Full Professor · University of Alcalá

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

SCREENING

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

99 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2024-11-27

Primary Completion

2026-07-31

Completion

2026-07-31

Countries

• Spain

Study Locations