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Glaucoma patients more likely to fall, be involved in car accidents, study finds
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Glaucoma patients are significantly more likely to fall or be involved in a motor vehicle collision, according to researchers in Canada.
Sharon A. Haymes, PhD, and colleagues at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia prospectively tracked 48 glaucoma patients older than 50 years of age and 47 age-matched controls. They found glaucoma patients were more than three times more likely to have fallen in the past year. Glaucoma patients were also six times more likely to have been involved in a motor vehicle collision and were more likely be at fault for the accident, according to the study.
The strongest risk factor for car accidents was an impaired visual field, the authors noted.
"Based on these results, the research group has started a larger prospective study to better understand why patients with glaucoma may be more likely to have falls and motor vehicle accidents. We need to find ways to help them minimize their risk," Dr. Haymes said in a press release from the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.
The study results are published in the March issue of Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science.