%0 Journal Article
%T Eye Diseases and Impaired Vision as Possible Risk Factors for Recurrent Falls in the Aged: A Systematic Review
%A Liisa Salonen
%A Sirkka-Liisa Kivel£¿
%J Current Gerontology and Geriatrics Research
%D 2012
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2012/271481
%X Background. Recurrent falls are common among the aged. Vision is needed in maintaining balance, and impaired vision may be an intrinsic risk factor of recurrent falls. The aim was to perform a systematic review about the relationships between eye diseases or impaired vision and the risk of recurrent falls in the aged. Material and Methods. MEDLINE and CINAHL databases were searched in order to find longitudinal epidemiological studies about the associations between eye diseases or impaired vision and the risk of recurrent falls. Altogether 19 studies were found. A qualitative systematic analysis of these studies was performed. Results and Conclusions. The evidence about poor depth perception/stereoacuity and poor low-contrast visual acuity as risk factors of recurrent falls is quite convincing. Discrepant vision, a decrease in visual acuity, and loss of visual field may be risk factors, but more studies are needed. The results concerning the relationships between poor visual acuity and poor contrast sensitivity and the risk of recurrent falls are controversial. More studies about the relationships between different measures of vision and the risk of recurrent falls are needed before final conclusions about poor vision as a risk factor for recurrent falling can be done. 1. Introduction Falls are common among the aged. One-third of community-dwelling people over the age of 65 years fall at least once a year [1¨C5]. The aged living in long-term institutions or in sheltered housing experience more falls than the home-dwelling aged [4]. Falls cause remarkable costs to the health care, and they may lead to long-term disabilities in the aged. Roughly 40% of serious falls lead to hospital admission, and 30¨C40% of the fallers admitted to hospitals are later transferred to nursing homes [6]. There are many reasons to develop prevention of falls. Falls may be classified in several ways. A common classification categorizes falls into three groups: falls that result from interference with the base of support (trips, slips), falls which result from externally applied push or self-induced displacement during bending, reaching, turning, or transfer, and falls which result from a physiological event that disrupts posture control mechanisms. Falls belonging to the first and second categories are usually accidental ones, and the person does not fall recurrently. Falls resulting from a physiological event are usually recurrent ones: the person falls several times a year [7]. Visual functioning, the ability to detect surroundings, is needed for posture control. Impaired
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/cggr/2012/271481/