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This study describes the performance of children 8-11 years of age on the Community Balance and Mobility Scale (CB&M) and associations between performance and age, body mass index (BMI), and sex. A convenience sample of 84 was recruited. The CB&M was administered using instructions we developed for children. Mean CB&M total scores (95% confidence intervals) for age groups were 8: 70.1 (64.2, 76.1); 9: 72.8 (68.7, 76.8); 10: 79.2 (76.6, 81.7); and 11: 82.9 (79.2, 86.5). None of the children achieved the maximum score. Scores increased with age, and overweight/obese children had relatively lower scores. There were no significant differences between males and females. A regression analysis found 28.1% of the variation in the CB&M total scores was explained by age (p < .001), BMI (p < .01), and sex (p = .25) suggesting that other factors contribute to variation in balance and mobility proficiency. The modified instructions and scoring patterns from this study can assist in using the CB&M in children of ages 8-11 years.

Background and Purpose: As the survival rate for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in childhood increases, long-term sequelae are a growing concern. This cross-sectional, descriptive study compared the balance skills of children and youth who have had ALL with those of comparable subjects and explored associations with demographics, therapy, physical activity, and health-related quality of life (HRQL)., Subjects: Ninety-nine subjects treated previously for ALL and 89 comparison subjects were examined., Methods: Measures included the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOTMP) balance subtest, the Children's Self-perceptions of Adequacy in and Predilection for Physical Activity Scale (CSAPPA), and the Health Utilities Index (HUI), a measure of HRQL., Results: The children and youth who had ALL had poorer balance than the comparison subjects (BOTMP = 10.55 and 16.30, respectively) and lower CSAPPA scores (57.72 and 63.72, respectively) and HUI scores (0.86 and 0.97, respectively). Regression analyses identified exposure to cranial irradiation, being overweight, lower CSAPPA scores for adequacy, and lower HUI single-attribute scores for cognition as predictors of lower balance scores in subjects who had ALL., Discussion and Conclusion: Balance abilities in subjects treated for ALL were compromised, and several factors were associated with this deficit.

Survivors of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in childhood have been identified with balance problems. The goals of this study were to objectively quantify these observations by measuring the displacement and velocity of the body centre of pressure, a measure of 'sway'. The subjects included 79 ALL survivors who were at least 1 year post-treatment for ALL and 83 age-matched controls. Testing was carried out using various static balance tests designed to challenge central nervous system maintenance of balance and postural control. Patients were different from controls, across all age groups, in the more difficult task in which they were required to balance over a narrow base of support. However this did not reach statistical significance. When they were asked to perform this task with their eyes closed 32% of the patients tested, as opposed to 2% of controls, were unable to complete the task (significant at P<0.01, chi(2)). The youngest group of patients (children aged 5-7 years) presented consistently with lower (or similar) displacement and lower velocity measures. This phenomenon has been observed in healthy children, however, in patients, these trends were magnified and beyond the normal age range in healthy children. The velocity values were significantly different from the other patient groups (normalized values for velocity; P<0.01). These observations then manifested as higher sway values when patients were challenged with a difficult task with their eyes closed. We propose that survivors of childhood ALL have delayed motor development compared to age-matched controls giving rise to impairment in balance and postural control. It is possible that these impairments are a consequence of intensive multi-agent chemotherapy and cranial irradiation.