While We Waited: Incidence and Predictors of Falls in Older Adults With Cataract
Purpose: Strong evidence indicates an increased fall risk associated with cataract. Although cataract surgery can restore sight, lengthy wait times are common for public patients in many high-income countries. This study reports incidence and predictors of falls in older people with cataract during...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology
2016
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/45990 |
| _version_ | 1848757436855353344 |
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| author | Palagyi, A. McCluskey, P. White, A. Rogers, K. Meuleners, Lynn Ng, J. Morlet, N. Keay, L. |
| author_facet | Palagyi, A. McCluskey, P. White, A. Rogers, K. Meuleners, Lynn Ng, J. Morlet, N. Keay, L. |
| author_sort | Palagyi, A. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Purpose: Strong evidence indicates an increased fall risk associated with cataract. Although cataract surgery can restore sight, lengthy wait times are common for public patients in many high-income countries. This study reports incidence and predictors of falls in older people with cataract during their surgical wait. Methods: Data from a prospective study of falls in adults aged ≥65 years who were awaiting cataract surgery in public hospitals in Australia were analyzed. Participants underwent assessment of vision, health status, and physical function, and recalled falls in the previous 12 months. Falls were self-reported prospectively during the surgical wait. Results: Of 329 participants, mean age was 75.7 years; 55.2% were female. A total of 267 falls were reported by 101 (30.7%) participants during the surgical wait (median observation time, 176 days): an incidence of 1.2 falls per person-year (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.0–1.3). Greater walking activity (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 1.06, 95% CI 1.01–1.10; P = 0.02, per additional hour/week), poorer health-related quality of life (IRR 1.12, 95% CI 1.05–1.20; P < 0.001, per 5-unit decrease), and a fall in the prior 12 months (IRR 2.48, 95% CI 1.57–3.93; P < 0.001) were associated with incident falls. No visual measure independently predicted fall risk. More than one-half (51.7%) of falls were injurious. Conclusions: We found a substantial rate of falls and fall injury in older adults with cataract who were awaiting surgery. Within this relatively homogenous cohort, measures of visual function alone inadequately predicted fall risk. Assessment of exposure to falls through physical activity frequency may prove valuable in identifying those more likely to fall during the surgical wait. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T09:28:04Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-45990 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T09:28:04Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-459902021-01-15T07:49:43Z While We Waited: Incidence and Predictors of Falls in Older Adults With Cataract Palagyi, A. McCluskey, P. White, A. Rogers, K. Meuleners, Lynn Ng, J. Morlet, N. Keay, L. Purpose: Strong evidence indicates an increased fall risk associated with cataract. Although cataract surgery can restore sight, lengthy wait times are common for public patients in many high-income countries. This study reports incidence and predictors of falls in older people with cataract during their surgical wait. Methods: Data from a prospective study of falls in adults aged ≥65 years who were awaiting cataract surgery in public hospitals in Australia were analyzed. Participants underwent assessment of vision, health status, and physical function, and recalled falls in the previous 12 months. Falls were self-reported prospectively during the surgical wait. Results: Of 329 participants, mean age was 75.7 years; 55.2% were female. A total of 267 falls were reported by 101 (30.7%) participants during the surgical wait (median observation time, 176 days): an incidence of 1.2 falls per person-year (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.0–1.3). Greater walking activity (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 1.06, 95% CI 1.01–1.10; P = 0.02, per additional hour/week), poorer health-related quality of life (IRR 1.12, 95% CI 1.05–1.20; P < 0.001, per 5-unit decrease), and a fall in the prior 12 months (IRR 2.48, 95% CI 1.57–3.93; P < 0.001) were associated with incident falls. No visual measure independently predicted fall risk. More than one-half (51.7%) of falls were injurious. Conclusions: We found a substantial rate of falls and fall injury in older adults with cataract who were awaiting surgery. Within this relatively homogenous cohort, measures of visual function alone inadequately predicted fall risk. Assessment of exposure to falls through physical activity frequency may prove valuable in identifying those more likely to fall during the surgical wait. 2016 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/45990 10.1167/iovs.16-20582 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Palagyi, A. McCluskey, P. White, A. Rogers, K. Meuleners, Lynn Ng, J. Morlet, N. Keay, L. While We Waited: Incidence and Predictors of Falls in Older Adults With Cataract |
| title | While We Waited: Incidence and Predictors of Falls in Older Adults With Cataract |
| title_full | While We Waited: Incidence and Predictors of Falls in Older Adults With Cataract |
| title_fullStr | While We Waited: Incidence and Predictors of Falls in Older Adults With Cataract |
| title_full_unstemmed | While We Waited: Incidence and Predictors of Falls in Older Adults With Cataract |
| title_short | While We Waited: Incidence and Predictors of Falls in Older Adults With Cataract |
| title_sort | while we waited: incidence and predictors of falls in older adults with cataract |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/45990 |