***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***DOCUMENTATION*** 
    ***EXAMPLES*** 
    Input: Gender Differences in Postural Stability Among Children This study aim ed to examine the gender differences in postural stability among 8 - 12 year-old children . Twenty-six children participated in this repeated measures study to measure the centre of pressure ( COP ) under one normal condition ( CONTROL : hard surface , eyes open , and looking straight ahead ) and two challenging sensory conditions ( ECHB : eyes closed and head back ; and EOCS : eyes open and compliant surface ) in r and omized order . Girls had significantly lower COP path velocity ( COP-PV , p < 0.05 , medium effect ) , smaller radial displacement ( COP-RD , p < 0.05 , medium effect ) , and lower area velocity ( COP-AV , p < 0.05 , medium effect ) as compared to boys when the three conditions were pooled . Gender differences were found in the percentage changes in COP-RD during ECHB ( p < 0.05 , large effect ) and EOCS ( p < 0.05 , medium effect ) , and in COP-AV during both ECHB and EOCS conditions ( p < 0.05 , medium effect ) . Postural stability performance of girls had higher correlations with age ( -0.62 vs. -0.40 ) , body mass ( -0.60 vs. -0.42 ) , foot length ( -0.68 vs. -0.45 ) , and physical activity level ( -0.45 vs. 0.02 ) , as compared to boys . Girls had better postural stability than boys but were more affected by altered sensory input information . Girls are more capable of integrating their sensory inputs , whereas boys treat each sensory input somewhat separately and rely more on somatosensory feedback . Exercises such as st and ing on unstable surfaces with eyes open instead of eye closed and head back are more beneficial to children 's postural stability control system Purpose : To establish normal values for functional reach ( FR ) and lateral reach ( LR ) in school children and to study the correlation of anthropometric measures with FR and LR values and the association between FR and LR scores . Methods : A total of 350 children aged 6 to 12 years were r and omly selected . Three successive trials of FR and LR with the child st and ing with feet shoulder width apart were performed and the mean of 3 trials was calculated . Results : Normal values of FR and LR were obtained . Pearson product moment correlation was used to examine the association of FR and LR to age , gender , and anthropometric measures . Stepwise regression analysis was done to obtain normal values of FR and LR with respect to height . Functional reach values significantly predicted LR values and vice versa . Conclusion : Normal mean values of FR and LR range from 22.7 cm to 37 cm and 16.3 cm to 22.5 cm , respectively . Height significantly correlates with both FR and LR BACKGROUND Normative gait data is essential for diagnosing and treating abnormal gait patterns . The examination of the onset of adult-like kinetic gait patterns in children has generated inconsistent results . The purpose of this study was to identify age-related differences in kinematic and kinetic gait parameters across children aged 3 - 13 years old . METHODS A motion capture system and three force plates were employed to compute sagittal joint angles and joint kinetics  during walking and compare results between children aged 3 - 4 years ( n=13 ) , 5 - 6 years ( n=10 ) , 7 - 8 years ( n=12 ) , and 9 - 13 years ( n=12 ) .  Anthropometric data was estimated using a mathematical model ( elliptical cylinder method ) . Peak flexion and extension joint angles and moments , and peak concentric and eccentric joint powers were analyzed using multivariate analyses of variance . FINDINGS For most of the variables examined , similar results were obtained across age groups . Reduced peak hip flexion moments and knee extension moments were observed in the 3 - 4 year olds compared to the oldest group of walkers . Compared to the 9 - 13 year olds , reduced ankle joint moments and power were observed in most age groups . INTERPRETATION The results suggest that adult-like kinetic patterns for the hip and knee were attained by 5 years of age . However , for the ankle joint , adult-like patterns are not achieved until nine years of age or older . These findings stress the importance of using age-matched normative data for clinical gait analysis To identify sex differences and developmental trends in motor performance and coordination across three stages of development : prepubertal , pubertal and postpubertal , 60 participants , 30 males and 30 females , were assessed on 13 motor tasks . Physical characteristics that accompany puberty were used to classify the participants into the stages . Analysis of variance and covariate analyses demonstrated that motor performance improves throughout adolescence in both males and females and that sex differences exist in motor performance , males performing better than females . The magnitude of the stage and sex differences were demonstrated by large effect sizes ( eta 2 ) . The motor tasks of long jump , running speed , and throwing a ball principally distinguished between the males and females . Female performance differed less from male performance after puberty . Results showed Measurements of st and  ing balance were determined for 92 children and adolescents , 5 - 18 years old , while they stood on a force plate with eyes open or eyes closed . The measurements included center-of-pressure calculations for path length per second , average radial displacement , anterior-posterior and mediolateral amplitudes , area per second , mean frequency of sway , Brownian r and om motion measure of short-term diffusion coefficient , and long-term scaling exponent . All balance parameters improved from youngest to oldest subjects , and the parameters improved when measured with the subjects ' eyes open compared with closed . The mean values for data from three trials varied by only 5 % when compared with the mean values from 10 trials . Data from this study suggest that force-plate center-of-pressure data can be used to determine differences in st and ing balance between children and adolescents of different ages and those with movement and balance abnormalities BACKGROUND Impairments in balance performance are a commonly accepted risk factor for falling in older people . Since there is a higher reported incidence of falling in women , it is of interest to test whether this correlates with poorer balance performance in women than men at the time of retirement in order to plan health promotional strategies . The purpose of this study was to investigate whether any gender differences exist in balance performance in people approaching retirement age . METHODS Ninety-seven healthy volunteers ( 44 males , 53 females ) planning to retire shortly were enrolled in the study ( age range 50 - 67 years ) .  Balance assessment s during quiet st and ing were performed under various conditions ; feet together eyes open , feet together eyes closed and single limb stance eyes open . The range of centre of pressure displacement in both the anterior-posterior and medial-lateral planes was collected for each task using a force platform . FINDINGS For several of the balance tasks the men exhibited a statistically significant larger range of centre of pressure displacement than the women ( P<0.01 ) . However , after normalising the data for height , no gender differences were seen . Over half of the group failed to complete all three single limb stance trials on both limbs . INTERPRETATION When the data was normalised for height , no differences were found in static balance performance between men and women of retirement age . A number of participants demonstrated balance impairments whilst performing the single limb stance likely to affect functional activities . Health promotional messages should be targeted equally at men and women Purpose : The reliability and validity of a new test , the Timed Up and Down Stairs ( TUDS ) , were examined in children with and without cerebral palsy ( CP ) . Methods : A convenience sample of 47 children age eight to 14 years participated , 20 with CP and 27 with typical development ( TD ) . Using intraclass correlation coefficients ( ICC ) , interrater , intrarater , and test – retest reliability of the TUDS were examined by two raters simultaneously testing nine children , by one rater who then rescored at a later time a video of the testing of 24 children , and by one rater testing 25 children twice with a two-hour separation , respectively . Concurrent validity was examined using Spearman rank correlations between TUDS scores and performance on the Timed Up and Go ( TUG ) , the Functional Reach Test ( FRT ) , and a Timed One Legged Stance ( TOLS ) , which were completed in a r and om order on all children . Construct validity was examined by correlation and Kruskal-Wallis analysis of variance of scores across ages and three functional level groups . Results : The TUDS demonstrated excellent intrarater , interrater , and test – retest reliability [ ICC ( 2,1 ) ≥0.94 ] and moderate to high concurrent validity ( Spearman rs = 0.78 , −0.57 , and −0.77 , with the TUG , FRT , and TOLS , respectively ) . Age accounted for 37 % and 56 % of the variance in the TUDS for the TD group and for the Gross Motor Function Classification Scale level I CP group , respectively . Significant differences in TUDS scores were found between all three functional level groups . Conclusion : The TUDS has adequate reliability and validity in children with and without CP and appears to complement current clinical measures of functional mobility and balance . Further investigations on across larger age ranges and sample s are warranted 
    Output:
    
Our systematic review and meta- analysis revealed better balance performances in adolescents compared to children , irrespective of the measure considered .
Sex-related differences were inconsistent .