Visual Impairment and the Incidence of Falls and Fractures Among Older People: Longitudinal Findings From the Blue Mountains Eye Study

PURPOSE. We assessed the impact of visual impairment on the incidence of falls and fractures in older persons. METHODS. Of 3654 baseline participants, 2334, 1952, and 1149 were re-examined after 5, 10, and 15 years. Presenting visual acuity (VA) was measured at each examination. Bilateral and unilateral visual impairment was defined as VA worse than 20/40 in the better and worse eye, respectively. Incident visual impairment was defined in eyes with VA 20/40 or better at baseline, which subsequently developed visual impairment. Incidence of falls was assessed over the 12 months before each visit, whereas incidence of fractures was assessed over the 5 years between two visits. Discrete logistic-regression models with time-dependent variables were used to assess associations between visual impairment and subsequent falls and fractures after adjusting for potential confounding variables. RESULTS. The proportions of participants reporting >= 2 falls ranged between 10% and 14%, and proportions reporting fractures ranged between 12% and 21%, across the three follow-up visits. Participants with incident visual impairment were more likely to report >= 2 falls in 5 years, OR (odds ratio) 1.46, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.04 to 2.04 (bilateral), and OR 1.22, 95% CI 0.98 to 1.51 (unilateral). Compared to participants with normal vision, those with incident unilateral visual impairment had a higher incidence of fractures over 5 years (OR, 1.27; 95% CI, 0.98-1.51). No increased incidence of falls or fractures was evident after 5 years among participants with visual impairment. CONCLUSIONS. In this older cohort, recent development of visual impairment was associated with increased likelihood of subsequent falls and fractures in the next 5 years, independent of other confounding variables.