TY - JOUR
T1 - Falls and visual impairment among elderly residents in ‘homes for the aged’ in India
AU - Marmamula, Srinivas
AU - Barrenkala, Navya Rekha
AU - Challa, Rajesh
AU - Kumbham, Thirupathi Reddy
AU - Modepalli, Satya Brahmanandam
AU - Yellapragada, Ratnakar
AU - Bhakki, Madhuri
AU - Friedman, David S.
AU - Khanna, Rohit C.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank the individuals for their participation in the study. Mr. Shashank Yellapragada is acknowledged for his assistance in data collection. Ms. Muni Rajya Lakshmi is acknowledged for her support with data management. Authors thank Prof. Jill Keeffe for her inputs on earlier versions of the manuscript. This work was supported by Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance Fellowship [IA/CPHE/14/1/501506] awarded to Dr. Srinivas Marmamula and Hyderabad Eye Research Foundation (HERF), India.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, The Author(s).
PY - 2020/12/1
Y1 - 2020/12/1
N2 - We evaluated the prevalence of falls and their association with visual impairment (VI) in elderly residents in ‘homes for the aged’ in Hyderabad, India. Participants aged ≥ 60 years were recruited from 41 homes, and a comprehensive eye examination was conducted. Interviews were conducted to collect personal and demographic information, systemic health status, fear of falling, depression, and history of falls in the last year. VI categories included low vision (presenting visual acuity worse than 6/18 to 3/60) and blindness (presenting visual acuity worse than 3/60). The data of 1,074 participants were analysed. The mean age was 74.4 years (standard deviation:8.7 years); 63.9% were women, 19.4% had no formal education, 28.1% were diabetic and 56.9% were hypertensive. The annual prevalence of falls was 29.1% (95% CI: 26.4–32.0). Multivariable analysis showed those with VI had significantly higher odds of falls (Odds Ratio:1.47; p = 0.043). The prevalence of falls was higher among those with VI due to uncorrected refractive errors. We found a very high prevalence of falls in elderly individuals living in ‘homes for the aged’ in Hyderabad, India. Addressing VI can result in fewer falls and contribute to healthy aging in India.
AB - We evaluated the prevalence of falls and their association with visual impairment (VI) in elderly residents in ‘homes for the aged’ in Hyderabad, India. Participants aged ≥ 60 years were recruited from 41 homes, and a comprehensive eye examination was conducted. Interviews were conducted to collect personal and demographic information, systemic health status, fear of falling, depression, and history of falls in the last year. VI categories included low vision (presenting visual acuity worse than 6/18 to 3/60) and blindness (presenting visual acuity worse than 3/60). The data of 1,074 participants were analysed. The mean age was 74.4 years (standard deviation:8.7 years); 63.9% were women, 19.4% had no formal education, 28.1% were diabetic and 56.9% were hypertensive. The annual prevalence of falls was 29.1% (95% CI: 26.4–32.0). Multivariable analysis showed those with VI had significantly higher odds of falls (Odds Ratio:1.47; p = 0.043). The prevalence of falls was higher among those with VI due to uncorrected refractive errors. We found a very high prevalence of falls in elderly individuals living in ‘homes for the aged’ in Hyderabad, India. Addressing VI can result in fewer falls and contribute to healthy aging in India.
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U2 - 10.1038/s41598-020-70066-2
DO - 10.1038/s41598-020-70066-2
M3 - Article
C2 - 32770042
AN - SCOPUS:85089273275
SN - 2045-2322
VL - 10
JO - Scientific reports
JF - Scientific reports
IS - 1
M1 - 13389
ER -