Fear of falling may cause social isolation in older adults with vision problems

A new study found that between 40 to 50 percent of older adults with visually impairing eye disease limit their activities due to a fear of falling. Vision scientists warn that this protective strategy puts seniors at risk for social isolation and disability.
In the paper, ‘Activity Limitation Due to a Fear of Falling in Older Adults with Eye Disease,’ researchers report on their examination of patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), glaucoma and Fuchs corneal dystrophy, as compared to a control group of older adults with good vision. Of the three groups with visual limitations, the patients with Fuchs corneal dystrophy were the mostly like to report activity limitation due to fear of falling, followed by those with glaucoma and the AMD group.
‘I expected all of the groups to limit their activities due to a fear of falling but I was a bit surprised that the group with Fuchs corneal dystrophy was the most likely to limit their activities,’ says Ellen E. Freeman, PhD, Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Montreal, Qu