Older people with sight loss are limiting their activities due to a fear of falling, a study published this month reveals
Between 40 to 50 per cent of older adults with sight loss caused by Fuchs corneal dystrophy, age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma reported limiting their activities. Patients with Fuchs corneal dystrophy were most likely to reduce their activity levels, the research showed.
The research paper Activity limitation due to fear of falling in older adults with eye disease published in Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science showed that just 16 per cent of the control group (people with normal vision) reported limiting their activities due to a fear of falling.
It is important to know more about which activities are limited due to fear of falling, said researcher Ellen E. Freeman. "If we could develop a brief effective intervention focused on select activities, I would like to see it offered in the clinical setting," she said.
However, the team could not explain why patients with Fuchs corneal dystrophy restricted their activities more than patients with either glaucoma or age-related macular degeneration.
"We would need to collect further information to determine why Fuchs patients were the most likely to report restricting their activities due to fear of falling and to learn more about which activities they restrict," she added.
You can read the paper 'Activity limitation due to fear of falling in older adults with eye disease' online.