Middle-aged people who can’t stand on one leg for 10 seconds are nearly twice as likely to die within a decade, according to new research. Scientists in Brazil say the simple and safe balance test should become part of a routine health check for older adults.

However, testing for balance isn’t a normal part of regular health checks for middle-aged people, possibly because there is no standardized test and there is little hard data linking it to injuries or disease beyond falling, the researchers say.

A team from Clinimex Medicina do Exercicio wanted to know whether a balance test might be a reliable indicator of a person’s risk of death from any cause within the next decade and whether the test should therefore be part of routine health checks.

They used participants from the CLINIMEX Exercise study, set up in 1994 to assess links between various measures of physical fitness and the risk of ill health and death from cardiovascular problems.

Among those 51 to 55, nearly five percent failed.

However, the proportion of deaths among those who failed the test was significantly higher: 17.5 percent compared to just 4.5 percent.

In general, those who failed the balance test had poorer health.

Type two diabetes was three times as common in this group, around 38 percent versus 13 percent in those who passed the test.

After accounting for age, sex, and underlying health conditions, an inability to stand unsupported on one leg for 10 seconds displayed a connection to an 84-percent heightened risk of death from any cause within the next decade.

“The 10 second balance test provides rapid and objective feedback for the patient and health professionals regarding static balance,” the researchers tell SWNS