Table 1

Falls and visual impairment

ReferenceStudy designStudy groupOphthalmic assessmentAdjustment for confounding variablesKey results
Abbreviations: (P) prospective study, (R) retrospective study; CI, confidence interval; OR, odds ratio; RR, relative risk.
6Cohort (R)n=875, elderlyFormalYesRisk of first, multiple, and injurious falls: was not significantly associated with visual impairment
48Cohort (P)n=761, aged 70+FormalAge onlyRisk of fall: was not significantly associated with visual impairment
17Cohort (P)n=9516, aged 65+FormalYesRisk of hip fracture: increased with poor depth perception RR 1.4 (95% CI 1.0 to 1.9) and/or low contrast sensitivity RR 1.3 (95% CI 1.0 to 1.5)
18Cohort (P)n=7575, aged 75+FormalYesRisk of hip fracture: increased with poor visual acuity RR 1.9 (95% CI 1.1 to 3.1). In subjects with very poor visual acuity the risk of hip fracture was even higher RR 2.0 (95% CI 1.1 to 3.7)
49Cohort (P)n=1947, aged 70+Medical historyYesOdds of fall: increased in patients with a medical history of glaucoma OR 1.63 (95% CI 1.13 to 2.37)
19Cohort (R)n=2633FormalYes.Risk of hip fracture: increased in subjects with any visual impairment RR 1.73 (95% CI 1.13 to 2.65)
13Cross sectionn=50, 50Medical notesNARisk of fall: was significantly associated with blindness and poor vision
12Cohort (R)n=489, aged 65+FormalYesRisk of serious falls: increased in subjects with 40% or greater visual field loss RR 3.0 (95% CI 0.94 to 9.8) and use of non-miotic eye medications 5.4 (95% CI 1.8 to 16.4)
20Case-controln=174Self report/ medical historyYesOdds of hip fracture: was increased in women with low distant vision (self reported) OR 4.8 (95% CI 1.4 to 16.2)
23Case-controln=24, 24FormalNoRisk of wrist fracture: was lower in the group with poorer vision
9Cross sectionn=3299, aged 49+FormalYesRisk of multiple falls: posterior subcapsular cataract prevalence ratio* (PR) 2.1 (95% CI 1.0 to 4.3); use of non-miotic glaucoma medication PR 2.0 (95% CI 1.1 to 3.6) low visual acuity PR 1.9 (95% CI 1.2 to 3.0); low contrast sensitivity PR 1.2 (95% CI 1.1 to 1.3). No significant association with other vision variables studied. (*The prevalence ratio is similar to relative risk)
16Case-controln=991, 910, aged 60+FormalYesOdds of hip fracture: increased in the visually impaired. OR 1.3 (95% CI 1.0 to 1.8)
37Survey (P)n=200, aged 65+FormalNoRisk of fall: significant difference between low vision of patients attending for falls compared with other those attending for other medical problems
50Cross sectionn=143, aged 65+QuestionnaireNARisk of fall: among patients with diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma the vision questionnaire had a 100% sensitivity in identifying patients with a history of falls
1Cohort (R)n=3722, adultsFormalYesRisk of fall and hip fracture: was significantly associated with visual acuity in the over 60s, in the under 60s risk was only associated with some vision measures
21Case-controln=129, aged 65+Case notesYesOdds of in hospital hip fracture: were higher in the visually impaired OR 1.97 (95% CI 1.18 to 3.30)
51Cohort (P)n=341, aged 65+FormalAge onlyRisk of multiple falls: significantly increased in subjects with poor visual acuity and/or a low ability to perceive contrast
22Cohort (R)n=53, 530Case notesAge/sex onlyRisk of second hip fracture: was significantly increased in the blind/ and those with low vision
11Cohort (P)n=336, aged 75+FormalYesRisk of fall: was higher in the visually impaired subjects RR 1.7 (95% CI 1.2 to 2.3)
52Cohort (P)n=927, aged 72+FormalNoRisk of multiple falls: was higher in visually impaired RR 1.6 (95% CI 1.1 to 2.4)
4Cohort (R)n=165BlindNoRisk of fall: the blind demonstrated a higher risk than the deaf or non-impaired populations