The performance of balance exercises during daily tooth brushing is not sufficient to improve balance and muscle strength in healthy older adults

Table 1 Group-specific characteristics of the study participants (N = 51)

Characteristic	INT (n = 27)	CON (n = 24)	p-value
Age (years)	65.1 (1.1)	66.2 (3.3)	0.243
Sex (f/m)	15/12	12/12
Body height (m)	1.69 (0.09)	1.71 (0.09)	0.600
Body mass (kg)	73.3 (13.0)	76.3 (11.6)	0.380
BMI (kg/m²)	25.2 (4.3)	26.5 (2.5)	0.552
CDT	all participants were classified as non-pathological
MMSE (points)	28.5 (1.4)	28.3 (0.9)	0.192
FQoPA (h/week)	12.0 (10.5)	7.5 (5.4)	0.064

Notes: Values are means and standard deviations in parenthesis. INT intervention group (i.e., tooth brushing in combination with balance exercises); CON passive control group (i.e., tooth brushing only); BMI body mass index; CDT Clock Drawing Test; MMSE Mini-Mental State Examination; FQoPA Freiburg questionnaire of physical activity; f female; m male

ISSN: 1471-2318