Introduction. Sex and anthropometric parameters have a significant impact on balance performance, emphasizing the necessity of considering these factors in dynamic balance studies. Therefore, this study aims to explore independent and interactive effects of age, sex, and BMI on dynamic balance control in healthy adults.
Material and Methods. A total of 227 healthy participants (aged 20-70 years), volunteered to take part in the study. Dynamic balance values were assessed using the Y-Balance Test (YBT), including anterior (ANT), posteromedial (PM), and posterolateral (PL) directions. The values were normalized based on leg length, and the average of the right and left leg scores were calculated to determine the total score (TotalScore). A covariance analysis method was used to model the effects of sex, BMI, and age on YBT.
Results. Sex had a significant effect on all YBT variables. BMI showed statistically significant effects on TopPM, TopPL, and TotalScore, but no significant effect on TopANT. The interaction between sex and BMI was not statistically significant across all variables. The effect of age as a covariate on balance showed a negative correlation across all variables.
Conclusions. These results indicate that sex is directly related to YBT measurements, age has a negative effect, and BMI particularly influences TopPM and TopPL, but not TopANT. The effects of sex and BMI on balance performance were found to be independent and did not interact with each other. In conclusion, controlling these factors in balance assessments may help obtain more reliable results.
