Low Bone Density in Skull Can Result in Poor Balance
People with low bone density are prone to fractures. To make matters worse, low bone density can significantly impair people's balance as they age, increasing the risk of falls and fractures, a new study published in the January issue of Annals of Epidemiology found. The study, which also reported low bone density impaired hearing ability, said bone loss affects the entire skeleton, including bones in the skull that house the organs for balance and hearing.
University of Iowa researchers analyzed data collected from 1999 to 2004 on 8,863 men and women, 40 to 85 years old, who were participants in a larger, continuing U.S. health study. Each subject underwent a bone density test of the entire body, including the head. Balance testing involved standing on a foam pad with closed eyes for up to 30 seconds. Subjects who opened their eyes or moved their arms and feet failed the test.
Just over a third of participants failed the balance test. Those with low bone density were more than twice as likely to fail the balance test than subjects with normal bone density. Low bone density subjects age 65 or older were almost four times as likely to fail than normal density subjects. Having low bone density in the head and total body was found to significantly increase the chances of hearing trouble in older subjects. Hearing was self-rated on a scale from 0 (no difficulties) to 3 (significant hearing trouble). Minor hearing trouble, a score of 1, was reported by 28% of the subjects and significant hearing trouble by 6%.
Lower bone density may affect the vestibular system in the ears, which controls a person's balance, by altering the dense part of the temporal bones at the base and sides of the skull, researchers said. This region of the skull also houses the inner ear, they said.
Caveat: It was impossible to discern the exact timing and relationship between bone loss, and balance and hearing impairments, researchers said. Hearing was self-reported and not verified.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304419104579324630292193394
(If you cannot open by clicking, try copy and paste the title onto google)
