Diabetic retinopathy associated with fall risk

Issue: January 10, 2018

An increased risk for falling in patients with diabetes was associated with the presence of mild to moderate diabetic retinopathy, according to a study.

A post hoc cross-sectional analysis of the Singapore Epidemiology of Eye Diseases study evaluated responses of 9,481 Asian patients with and without diabetes in regard to self-reported falls within the preceding 12 months. Of these patients, 2,012 had diabetes with no diabetic retinopathy (DR) and 857 had diabetes with DR. Of those, 310 had moderate DR, 206 had mild DR, 125 had moderate DR and 216 had vision-threatening DR.

Falls were reported in 328 of those with diabetes without DR (16.3%), while 175 with DR (20.4%) reported falls. Of 6,612 patients without diabetes, a history of falls was reported in 872 (13.2%).

“The risk of falling among participants with diabetes but without DR was no different than that in participants without diabetes. However, the presence of DR in participants with diabetes was significantly associated with falling,” the study authors wrote.

While those with vision-threatening DR showed no association with falls, a trend analysis showed a pattern of increasing risk for falls with increasing severity of DR.

“Our findings suggest that strategies to prevent or delay the development of DR are likely to reduce the risk of falls in persons with diabetes, preventing fall-related decline in physical functioning, suboptimal quality of life, and lack of independence in adults with diabetes,” the authors wrote. “Furthermore, our results underscore the importance of safety and mobility training even for people with mild to moderate DR who are not experiencing vision impairment.” – by Rebecca L. Forand

Disclosures: Gupta reports no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the study for all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.

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Source:

Gupta P, et al. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2017;doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2017.4983.