FUNCTIONAL STATE OF THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM IN ELDERLY PERSONS WITH POSTURAL INSTABILITY

Abstract

Background. Preservation of postural balance allows the elderly people to remain mobile and lead an active lifestyle. There is evidence of the contribution of the ANS to the coordination of postural responses and the maintenance of postural stability in young adults. However, similar data for the elderly is not enough and this issue requires further study. Purpose. To reveal the peculiarities of ANS functioning in elderly people with postural instability. Materials and methods. In 120 women aged 60-74 years, a survey, anthropometry, assessment of the dynamic component of postural balance by stabilometry and heart rate variability by cardiointervalography were performed. The study group included elderly people with postural instability (60 people), the control group included 60 women who did not report such facts. Data analysis was performed using “SPSS 27.0”. Results. The state of postural balance in the study group was characterized by a decrease in walking speed (p = 0.008) and a rise index when moving from the right leg (p = 0.016), an increase in the speed of oscillations of the center of body mass in the lifting phase (p = 0.047), oscillations of the center of gravity during rotation when moving on the left (p=<0.001) and right (p=0.003) legs, turn time when moving on the left (p=0.44) and right (p=0.36) legs. Conclusion. The results demonstrate a decrease in the quality and efficiency of postural balance regulation in elderly women with postural instability. We did not reveal any significant differences in the indicators characterizing the activity of different parts of the ANS depending on the facts of postural instability.

Keywords

• postural instability
• dynamic component
• postural balance
• autonomic nervous system