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. 2022 Dec 12;22(1):2324.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-14697-2.

Visual impairment and falls among older adults and elderly: evidence from longitudinal study of ageing in India

Rajeev Ranjan Singh  1 , Priya Maurya  2
Affiliations

Visual impairment and falls among older adults and elderly: evidence from longitudinal study of ageing in India

Rajeev Ranjan Singh et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: The present study determines the prevalence and correlates of falls, multiple falls, and injuries, focusing on visual impairment among the older adult and elderly population in India. Additionally, owing to the higher prevalence of falls and visual impairment among women, a sex-stratified analysis has also been done in the present study.

Methods: The study utilized the data from the first wave of the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI wave-1), conducted during 2017-2018. Bivariate with chi-square and multivariate analyses were performed to fulfill the objective.

Results: Around 34% of population had low vision (male:30% and female: 38%), while blindness prevalence was 1.63% (males: 1.88% and females: 1.41%). The fall was higher among females and increased across the gender with increasing visual impairment and blindness levels. The unadjusted odds of falls were 16% higher among individuals with low vision and 40% higher among individuals with blindness than with normal vision, and comparatively higher odds among females than males.

Conclusion: In summary, falls and visual impairment is public health challenge and needs to be addressed. Visual impairment is preventable in most cases, so it may be a modifiable target for reducing the risk of falls.

Keywords: Falls; India; Injury; Older adults; Visual impairment.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

The authors declare that there is no competing interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Association between measured visual impairment and fall among older adults and elderly in India, 2017-18
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Association between measured visual impairment and multiple fall among older adults and elderly in India, 2017-18
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Association between measured visual impairment and injury among older adults and elderly in India, 2017-18
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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