Binocular Visual‐Field Loss Increases the Risk of Future Falls in Older White Women

2007/01/25 by Anne L. Coleman, Steven R. Cummings, Fei Yu +9 · 118 citations
Medicine · Neuroscience · #Confidence interval #Falls in older adults #Glaucoma and retinal disorders #Injury prevention #Internal medicine #Medical emergency #Medicine #Odds ratio #Ophthalmology #Ophthalmology and Visual Impairment Studies #Optometry #Poison control #Psychiatry #Visual acuity #Visual field #Visual field loss #Visual impairment #Visual perception and processing mechanisms

paper · open access · doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2007.01094.x

published in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 55(3), 357-364 (Wiley)

openalex publication_date 2007/01/25 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To examine the relationship between binocular visual field loss and the risk of incident frequent falls in older white women. DESIGN: A multicenter, prospective cohort study. SETTING: Four clinic centers within the United States in Baltimore, Maryland; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Portland, Oregon; and the Monongahela Valley, Pennsylvania. PARTICIPANTS: Four thousand seventy-one community-dwelling white women aged 70 and older participating in the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures. MEASUREMENTS: Primary outcome was incident frequent falls, defined as two or more falls within 1 year. Primary risk factors were binocular visual field loss, distance visual acuity in the better eye, and contrast sensitivity at low spatial frequency in the better eye. RESULTS: Of 4,071 women, 409 (10%) had severe binocular visual field loss at the eye examination, and 643 (16%) experienced frequent falls within 1 year after their eye examination. Severe binocular visual field loss was significantly associated with frequent falls when adjusting for age, study site, and cognitive function (odds ratio=1.50, 95% confidence interval=1.11-2.02). The data showed a trend for increasing odds of two or more falls with greater binocular visual field loss (P<.001). In older white women with severe binocular visual field loss, 33.3% of frequent falls were attributable to visual field loss. CONCLUSION: Women with binocular visual field loss are at greater risk of future frequent falls. Screening for binocular visual field loss may identify individuals at high risk of falling.

Citations

• Prevalence and Causes of Visual Field Loss in the Elderly and Associations With Impairment in Daily Functioning

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