Developmental changes in postural sway in children at high and low risk for developing alcohol-related disorders.

BACKGROUND To utilize the power of latent growth analysis to evaluate changes in postural sway during development in children who are either at high or low risk for developing alcoholism. METHODS A total of 629 assessments of postural sway have been performed in children and adolescents (n = 126) who were evaluated annually over a 7-year period. RESULTS Latent curve models indicated that these children/adolescents show a linear decrease in sway with age. Moreover, significantly different rates of change in the amount of sway between high- and low-risk offspring were seen. With the exception of one of the four stances tested, high-risk boys consistently showed a slower rate of improvement with respect to the amount of sway exhibited compared to low-risk boys. In girls, similar rates of improvement with age were seen in high- and low-risk individuals, though in one stance the high-risk girls showed a deterioration (greater sway with increasing age). CONCLUSIONS Previous reports of increased postural sway in high-risk offspring most likely reflect a developmental delay (high-risk children have greater sway than is appropriate for their age based on normative values by age).