@article{ref1,
title="Association between vision impairment and increased prevalence of falls in older US adults",
journal="Journal of the American Geriatrics Society",
year="2024",
author="Jin, Huiyan and Zhou, Yunshu and Stagg, Brian C. and Ehrlich, Joshua R.",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Vision impairment (VI) is associated with falls in older adults. However, past studies have relied on geographically constrained samples with limited generalizability or self-reports of visual difficulty. To date, there have not been nationally representative studies on the association of objective measures of visual function and falls outcomes. <br><br>METHODS: We used cross-sectional data from Round 11 of National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS), a nationally representative panel study of age-eligible Medicare beneficiaries (N = 2951). We performed Poisson regression to calculate the prevalence and prevalence ratio (PR) of >1 fall in the past year, any fall in the past month, fear of falling (FoF), and activity limitation due to FoF as a function of distance visual acuity, near visual acuity, and contrast sensitivity. Models were adjusted for demographic and health covariates and were weighted to make nationally representative parameter estimates. <br><br>RESULTS: The weighted proportion of participants with VI was 27.6% (95% CI, 25.4%-29.9%). Individuals with any VI had a higher prevalence of falls compared with those without VI (18.5% vs. 14.1%, PR = 1.25, 95% CI 1.02-1.53). Specifically, contrast sensitivity impairment was associated with a higher prevalence of recurrent falls (20.8% vs. 14.7%; PR = 1.30, 95% CI 1.01-1.67) and recent falls (17.1% vs. 9.9%; PR = 1.40, 95% CI 1.01-1.94). This relationship existed even independent of near and distance visual acuity. Distance and near visual acuity were not significantly associated with falls. Having any VI was also associated with a higher prevalence of FoF (38.4% vs. 30.5%, PR = 1.17, 95% CI 1.02-1.34). <br><br>CONCLUSION: The prevalence of falls is associated with poor contrast sensitivity but not with near or distance visual acuity. <br><br>FINDINGS suggest greater collaboration between geriatricians and eye care providers may be warranted to assess and address fall risk in older adults with VI.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0002-8614",
doi="10.1111/jgs.18879",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jgs.18879"
}