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In a study of 250 older people with existing eye diseases, 40 to 50 % admitted to limiting their activities due to a fear of falling compared with just 16% of one hundred older adults with normal sight. Their poor vision is posing a serious risk to their social isolation and possibly disability.
It was reported that the majority of studied adults most likely to say they limited their activities due to the fear of falling were in fact women. They were found to have poorer vision, more likely to suffer depression and had greater heath problems generally.
The findings will prove useful not only for the patients and researchers but also their care providers and their families who will be able to support them with the corrects aids and facilities and provide low-vision rehabilitation services.
It is just as important to know more about which activities are being limited due to their fears of falling, in order to develop and test interventions to assist in their confidence and ability to safely do such activities.
It is recommended that older adults with eye disease should try and stay as mobile as is safely possible to help prevent health problems associated with being inactive, including disability and death.