The Association Between Visual Field Defect Severity and Fear of Falling in Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma

• Published in: Investigative ophthalmology & visual science Vol. 54; no. 12; p. 7739
• Main Authors: Yuki, Kenya, Tanabe, Sachiko, Kouyama, Keisuke, Fukagawa, Kazumi, Uchino, Miki, Shimoyama, Masaru, Ozeki, Naoki, Shiba, Daisuke, Ozawa, Yoko, Abe, Takayuki, Tsubota, Kazuo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 21.11.2013
• Subjects: Accidental Falls - statistics & numerical data; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Cross-Sectional Studies; Fear; Female; Glaucoma, Open-Angle - complications; Glaucoma, Open-Angle - physiopathology; Glaucoma, Open-Angle - psychology; Humans; Intraocular Pressure; Japan - epidemiology; Male; Middle Aged; Prevalence; Quality of Life; Retrospective Studies; Scotoma - diagnosis; Scotoma - etiology; Scotoma - psychology; Severity of Illness Index; Surveys and Questionnaires; Visual Field Tests; Visual Fields; Japan; fear of falling; visual field; quality of life; glaucoma
• ISSN: 1552-5783; 1552-5783
• DOI: 10.1167/iovs.13-12079

To determine if glaucomatous visual field defect severity is associated with fear of falling. This is a cross-sectional study. A total of 387 consecutive subjects with POAG were enrolled in this study along with 293-ocular disease-free control subjects, who were screened at the same institutions. We defined mild POAG as MD of -6 dB or better, moderate POAG as MD of -6 to -12 dB, and severe POAG as MD of -12 dB or worse in the better eye. All participants were requested to answer a questionnaire on fear of falling. Associations between POAG severity and the prevalence of fear of falling were evaluated with the Cochran-Armitage trend test. Multivariable factors including age-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for the prevalence of fear of falling and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were evaluated with logistic regression models. The prevalence of fear of falling was 35/293 (11.9%) in the control group, 38/313 (12.1%) in the mild POAG group, 12/48 (25.0%) in the moderate POAG group, and 6/26 (23.1%) in the severe POAG group, and the trend was statistically significant (P = 0.028 Cochran-Armitage trend test). The adjusted ORs for prevalence in the mild, moderate, and severe POAG groups compared with that in the control group were 1.44 (95% CI: 0.83-2.51), 2.33 (95% CI: 1.00-5.44), and 4.06 (95% CI: 1.39-11.90), respectively. Among patients with POAG, the severity of visual field defects is associated with fear of falling. (http://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/index.htm number, UMIN000005574.).