Older adults may be less visually sensitive to obstacle contrast
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NEW ORLEANS — Age-related decline in contrast sensitivity may contribute to reduced visibility of obstacles and increased susceptibility to falls, according to research presented at Academy ’23.
“Falls do exist in all age groups and, in fact, there are similar rates of falls in young adults as well as older adults,” Kierstyn Napier-Dovorany, OD, FAAO, from Indiana University, said. “Tripping is the main cause of falls in both age groups and visual characteristics of obstacles in the pathway have not been fully looked at.”
Napier-Dovorany and colleagues studied 12 normally sighted adults, five of whom were older (mean age, 68.8 years) and seven who were younger (mean age, 24.7 years).
Participants were asked to walk along a 6-meter, black carpeted walkway and step over a single obstacle, which was located 4 meters from the start and varied in height and contrast. The researchers used 13 motion capture cameras to measure lower limb kinematics for each participant.
While visual acuity was similar in both groups, the younger adults demonstrated significantly higher contrast sensitivity, with greater foot clearance over high contrast vs. low contrast obstacles.
“The young adults stepped higher over obstacles than the older adults did, particularly over the high contrast obstacles,” Napier-Dovorany said. “The older adults did not really change behavior for the contrast, so they stepped about the same over the high contrast obstacle as the low contrast obstacle.”
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Napier-Dovorany K, et al. Older adults are less sensitive to the contrast level of an obstacle on the floor than young adults. Presented at: Academy; Oct. 11-14, 2023; New Orleans.
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