Balance & falls
Postural control
Also searched as Postural control.
Falls are the outcome where several tracked systems converge — muscle, vision, hearing, cognition and blood pressure regulation all contribute, and a deficit in any one raises risk.
In depth
Postural control from vestibular, proprioceptive and visual input plus the muscle to act on it.
What drives it
Muscle increases it.
PMC12231242 — Drawn from reviews of neighboring outcomes rather than from studies of this outcome itself, which is weaker evidence, and the map marks it so. Verbatim: “The positive association between sarcopenia with falls and fractures in older adults strengthens the need to invest in sarcopenia prevention and interventions to evaluate its effect on falls and fractures”. doi 10.1002/jcsm.12411 · PMC12231242
Physical performance increases it.
10.1038/s41598-025-02128-2 — Drawn from reviews of neighboring outcomes rather than from studies of this outcome itself, which is weaker evidence, and the map marks it so. doi 10.1038/s41598-025-02128-2
Hearing increases it.
10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e26880 — 27010669 — Drawn from reviews of neighboring outcomes rather than from studies of this outcome itself, which is weaker evidence, and the map marks it so. doi 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e26880
Vision increases it.
10.1038/srep10559 — Drawn from reviews of neighboring outcomes rather than from studies of this outcome itself, which is weaker evidence, and the map marks it so. doi 10.1038/srep10559
Nerve protection reduces it.
10.3389/fendo.2020.573804 — Drawn from reviews of neighboring outcomes rather than from studies of this outcome itself, which is weaker evidence, and the map marks it so. doi 10.3389/fendo.2020.573804
Memory & focus increases it.
10.20900/agmr20240002 — Drawn from reviews of neighboring outcomes rather than from studies of this outcome itself, which is weaker evidence, and the map marks it so. Verbatim: “Cognitive impairment (CI) increases an individual's risk of falls due to the role cognition plays in gait control”. doi 10.20900/agmr20240002 · PMC8665555
Brain adaptability increases it.
Verbatim: “The absence of such a correlation between Hmax/Mmax ratios and stance stability suggests that mainly supraspinal adaptations contributed to improved balance performance following training”. doi 10.1111/j.1748-1716.2007.01665.x
Blood pressure modulates it.
10.1093/ageing/afx053 — Drawn from reviews of neighboring outcomes rather than from studies of this outcome itself, which is weaker evidence, and the map marks it so. Verbatim: “Orthostatic hypotension was positively associated with falls (odds ratio 1.73, 95% confidence interval 1.50-1.99)”. doi 10.1093/ageing/afx053 · PMID 30583909
Hydration & electrolytes increases it.
10.3390/ijerph14050460 — Drawn from reviews of neighboring outcomes rather than from studies of this outcome itself, which is weaker evidence, and the map marks it so. Verbatim: “There were significant relationships between dehydration and risk of falling (OR 1.38, 95% CI 1.00-1.90; p < 0.05), after adjustment for age, gender, DM, CKD”. doi 10.3390/ijerph14050460
Bone health increases it.
10.1007/s00198-004-1791-2 — Drawn from reviews of neighboring outcomes rather than from studies of this outcome itself, which is weaker evidence, and the map marks it so. doi 10.1007/s00198-004-1791-2
Joint comfort increases it.
10.3390/s25206288 — 37221150 — Drawn from reviews of neighboring outcomes rather than from studies of this outcome itself, which is weaker evidence, and the map marks it so. doi 10.3390/s25206288
Cellular aging reduces it.
Verbatim: “Age-related decline in balance and postural control is common in healthy elders and is escalated in aging adults with stroke”. doi 10.3390/brainsci14101021 · PMID 39452033
Mitochondrial energy increases it.
Drawn from reviews of neighboring outcomes rather than from studies of this outcome itself, which is weaker evidence, and the map marks it so. Sources: doi 10.1139/H07-174; PMC13074595; PMC10102650. doi 10.1139/H07-174 · PMC13074595
Vitamin D status increases it.
10.1186/s12877-024-05009-x — Drawn from reviews of neighboring outcomes rather than from studies of this outcome itself, which is weaker evidence, and the map marks it so. doi 10.1186/s12877-024-05009-x
What it drives
It increases Bone health.
10.1038/s41598-025-25691-0 — https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/geriatrics/falls-in-older-adults/falls-in-older-adults — Supported by the reviews of this outcome as a whole. No separable effect size has been reported for this arm. doi 10.1038/s41598-025-25691-0
It increases Physical performance.
10.1186/s13018-019-1125-x — Supported by the reviews of this outcome as a whole. No separable effect size has been reported for this arm. doi 10.1186/s13018-019-1125-x
It reduces Calm under stress.
10.1186/1745-6215-15-210 — Supported by the reviews of this outcome as a whole. No separable effect size has been reported for this arm. doi 10.1186/1745-6215-15-210
It increases Mood.
Supported by the reviews of this outcome as a whole. No separable effect size has been reported for this arm. This link rests on the reviews of this outcome as a whole, and no effect size specific to it has been reported. Sources:. doi 10.2147/PRBM.S569966.
It increases Recovery.
10.1093/ageing/afz164.51 — Supported by the reviews of this outcome as a whole. No separable effect size has been reported for this arm. doi 10.1093/ageing/afz164.51
Blends that modulate it
Each blend page names this pathway and carries the study behind its claim.
See it on the map
Open the causal map to follow this pathway upstream and downstream, arrow by arrow, each with its study.