Abstract
PurposeTo investigate the relationship between visual function and the risks of falling and injurious falls in subjects with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG)MethodsQuestionnaires were conducted in 365 POAG patients to assess history of falls and falls with injury and general patient health. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to investigate the relationship between visual function, as measured by a patient’s binocular integrated visual field and visual acuity (VA), general health and the risks of falling and injurious falls.ResultsAmong the 365 subjects, 55 subjects experienced falls in the past year. A significant difference was observed in worse-eye VA between the faller and non-faller groups (p = 0.03). SEM of fallers obtained a Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) of 0.035 and a Comparative Fit Index (CFI) of 0.99. The 95% confidence intervals (CI) of regression coefficients from this model suggested better VA and worse VA were significant risk factors for falling. Among the 55 fallers, 22 subjects experienced an associated injury. There was a significant difference in gender between the non-injurious and injurious faller groups (p = 0.002). SEM of injurious fallers obtained a RMSEA of 0.074 and a CFI of 0.97. In this SEM model, the 95% CI of regression coefficients suggested gender and average total deviation values in the lower peripheral visual field were significant risk factors for an injurious fall.ConclusionsThis study suggests that worse-eye and better-eye VAs are associated with falls. Furthermore, patients with inferior visual field loss and females were found to be at greater risk of injurious falls.
Highlights
Falls, in particular falls associated with injuries, are one of the most serious public health concerns for the elderly in the world [1,2]
This study suggests that worse-eye and better-eye visual acuity (VA) are associated with falls
Patients with inferior visual field loss and females were found to be at greater risk of injurious falls
Summary
In particular falls associated with injuries, are one of the most serious public health concerns for the elderly in the world [1,2]. Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness in the world [8] yet there is still controversy regarding the link between glaucoma (and consequential visual field defects) and the risk of falling [9,10,11,12,13,14]. Glaucoma has widely been reported to be associated with reduced qualify of life and daily activities [16,17,18] but it is debatable whether glaucomatous visual field loss is associated with falls or not [9,10,11,12,13,14, 19,20,21]. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between visual function and falls or injurious falls in subjects with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) while considering patients’ general function
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