The causes of falls in elderly patients with visual impairment

Abstract

PURPOSE: To evaluate the causes of falls in elderly patients with visual impairment and the problems faced by the elderly patients

METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study was conducted by enrolling 96 elderly participants. The data was collected through self-designed Questionnaire. The questions were asked about their causes of fall, visual problems, daily life activities and social activities.

RESULTS: Out of 96 patients, 81.3% thought that visual impairment is the cause of falls in elderly. 67.7% were having visual related problems, 35.4% were having trouble in walking, 46.9% were having blurring of images while watching, 43.8% were having trouble sometimes while standing up too quickly, 33.3% were having trouble while not getting well balanced after standing up. 41.7% were having trouble while getting off the stairs, 19.8% were having problem while differentiating the colors, 36.5% were having problem while recognizing the edges of tables or corner of walls, 27.1% missed their steps while getting off the stairs. Around 15.6% were having trouble while walking with their correction, 28.1% felt blackout after called for the sudden response, 44.8% were having trouble in reading or writing, 22.9% had other health problem, 35.4% were having problem with independent travel and 29.2% felt restricted in visiting their friends and family.

CONCLUSION: Fall is very prevalent in elderly population. For most of patients, visual impairment is major cause of falls. Visual impairment causes blurring of images and trouble while moving. Falls lead to various general health problems including dependency and difficulty in daily life activities.

KEY WORDS: Visual impairment, Cause, Fall.