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According to a recent study published in Optometry and Vision Science, researchers believe that patients suffering from the eye and vision related condition glaucoma, are, on average, more susceptible to physical falls and accidents of such a nature due to this disease.
The research which was published in the November 2011 issue, dubbed the Journal of the American Academy of Optometry, was put into practice to examine the 'visual predictors of falls and injurious falls among older adults with glaucoma.' The assessments were conducted amongst a range of 71 adults, of mean age 73.9, with primary open-angle glaucoma. The adults taking part were required to complete a 'fall diary', documenting each time they fell and had an accident, as well as the severity of the incident and whether injuries were sustained and to what degree. The study intended to determine the regularity of such occurrences and whether in comparison to non affected adults of similar age the results showed a higher risk.
As one of the major causes of injury to the elderly, falls and such related accidents are something we hope to be able to avoid if possible. It is estimated that across the board, 33% of adults over the age of 65 experience a fall of some kind at least once per year. As much as 16% of adults fall on a number of occasions during a calendar year. The study, in this case, was to assess the importance of sight and it's quality, and whether it played a significant part in the number of accidents which occur.
The results of the experiment showed that during the years testing, 44% of the participants had experienced a fall during that period, with 31% suffering more than once. In direct comparison to averages for such an age group, it is clear that those with glaucoma were seemingly at much higher risk, with an increase of over 10% in single falls and almost double the number of multiple falls expected on average. The results also went on to highlight the importance played by the inferior field region, stating that those with greater visual impairment in this area showed in even higher risk of falling.