Abstract
Purpose :
Falls are very prevalent in the older population. Visually impaired elderly patients are prone to falls as the result of visual loss and ageing. This was a cross-sectional, observational study to compare the fear of fall between glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) patients from a developing country.
Methods :
The sample comprised 64 patients with primary open angle glaucoma, 56 with ARMD and 52 controls. All groups were matched for age, gender, comorbidity, and ethnic distribution. After a complete eye examination including measurement of best-corrected visual acuity, ophthalmoscopy, and automated visual field, all subjects completed the Fall Efficacy Scale International (FES-I). FES-I score was the main outcome measure and data was compared with ANOVA.
Results :
The mean age was 66.6 ± 9.2, 69.8 ± 9.3, and 63.4 ± 7.3 years, for glaucoma, ARMD, and controls, respectively. Gender, ethnic, and comorbidity were evenly distributed among the groups. The FES-I score was 24.6 ± 8.7, 24.1 ± 6.6, and 24.2 ± 7.7 for glaucoma, ARMD, and controls, respectively (P = 0.944). A post hoc analysis comparing all subjects with advanced visual field defect (MD < -12 dB) revealed a higher FES-I score in ARMD patients as compared to glaucoma ones (46.2 ± 16.8 and 24.0 ± 7.7 for ARMD and glaucoma, respectively, P < .000).
Conclusions :
ARMD patients with compromised visual field do have higher fear of fall as compared to glaucoma patients.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2017 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Baltimore, MD, May 7-11, 2017.