OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of type of visual image and gender on subjective visual horizontal (SVH) perception among healthy adults.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this comparative study, 50 healthy young adults were enrolled. While in an upright body position, they were required to report their perception of horizontality for two types of visual images (solid line and arrow pattern) using a computerized SVH device.
RESULTS: The arrow pattern produced significantly bigger SVH angles than the solid line (p < .001). In contrast, no significant influence of gender was found on SVH results (p = .743), Based on the statistical outcomes, the preliminary normative data for SVH were established.
CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: The arrow pattern (a more complex visual image) produced bigger SVH deviations than the simple solid line image. In contrast, the horizontality perception does not appear to be affected by gender. The preliminary normative SVH data gathered from the present study can be beneficial for clinical and future research applications.
METHODS: This study involved 307 adults aged 60 years and older. Participants had their hearing and cognition measured using pure tone audiometry and Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), respectively.
RESULTS: Pure tone average (low) accounted for significant but minimal amount of variance in measure of MMSE. Multiple regression analyses were also performed on normal and impaired hearing cohorts and cohorts with younger (60-69 years) and older (≥70 years) groups. The results revealed a significant relationship between PTA (low) and MMSE only in the younger age group. In contrast, no significant relationship was found between PTA (high) and cognition in any of the cohorts.
CONCLUSION: Pure tone average (low) is significantly but minimally related to measure of general cognitive status. Similar relationship is not observed between high-frequency hearing and cognition. Further research using a more comprehensive cognitive test battery is needed to confirm the lack of association between high-frequency hearing and cognition.
METHODS: Healthy participants aged ≥ 60 years with no neurological conditions were recruited from rural and urban locations in Malaysia. HGS and KPS were measured using hand grip and key pinch dynamometers. Basic demographic data, anthropometric measures, modified Barthel Index scores and results of the Functional Reach Test (FRT), Timed Up and Go (TUG) test and Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function Test (JTHFT) were recorded.
RESULTS: 362 subjects aged 60-93 years were recruited. The men were significantly stronger than the women in both HGS and KPS (p < 0.001). The hand strength of the study cohort was lower than that of elderly Western populations. Significant correlations were observed between hand strength, and residential area (p < 0.001), FRT (r = 0.236, p = 0.028), TUG (r = -0.227, p = 0.009) and JTHFT (r = -0.927, p < 0.001).
CONCLUSION: This study established reference ranges for the HGS and KPS of rural and urban elderly Malaysian subpopulations. These will aid the use of hand strength as a screening tool for frailty among elderly persons in Malaysia. Future studies are required to determine the modifiable factors for poor hand strength.