Reductions In Volitional Sway Appear Related To Type Two Diabetes And Age

•PURPOSE: Type 2 diabetes has been shown to affect several aspects of balance and postural control. Volitional sway shows how one chooses to move while standing and is one aspect of postural control that is not well understood. The purpose of this preliminary study is to investigate the effects of type 2 diabetes and age on volitional sway. •METHODS: 31 participants were recruited for this study, 21 healthy college aged participants (mean age 22.3 ± 2.9 years) were recruited from a local university and 10 adults with type 2 diabetes (mean age 53.55 ± 10.6 years) were recruited from a physician's office. Each participant had their height (cm) and shoe size (cm) recorded. Participants completed the volitional Limits of Stability (vLOS) protocol by standing on a portable balance plate with the medial aspect of each mid-foot 31 cm apart, having one minute to move their body maximally in every direction while keeping their feet stationary. Total area of excursion was recorded. Percent of base of support (BoS%) was calculated by dividing total area by base of support (shoe size in cm x 31 cm). A two tailed t-test compared BoS% of the two groups. A Pearson correlation was conducted to examine the relationship between BoS% and age. •RESULTS: A significant difference in BoS% (p < 0.01) was found, such that the healthy group (mean = 57.7 ± 9.9%) had a higher BoS% compared to the diabetes (mean = 42.6 ± 11.1%) group. A moderate negative relationship between age and BoS% (r = -0.59, p < 0.01) revealed decreased volitional sway with progressed age. •CONCLUSION: This data suggest that type 2 diabetes and age may insult volitional sway by reducing the total area accessible during movement. Due to the large age difference between the two groups, and only finding a moderate correlation to age, it is difficult to determine the true effect size of each variable. A future iteration of this study will be carried out with extended and age matched grouping to better define the individual impacts of age and type 2 diabetes on volitional sway.