New glasses, new risks
Wednesday, June 18 2014 | 00 h 00 min | News
Over-aggressive vision correction may increase the risk of falling in older adults, according to Dr. David B. Elliott, who has received the Glenn A. Fry award for a study on the topic.
The researcher conducted a review of studies on the impact of blurred vision and vision correction on the risk of falling in older adults. Poor vision is a significant factor in the risk of falling in older people. Consequently, one would think that getting new glasses would reduce this risk. However, the opposite is often the case.
In a paper published in Optometry and Vision Science, Dr. Elliott refers to a study showing that older patients getting new glasses with a big change in vision prescription have difficulty adapting and are at risk of falling.
Dr. Elliott suggests that optometrists use a conservative approach when prescribing glasses for older patients and keep the same type of lens that their patients are used to. He also suggests that if a patient simply requests a new frame, without complaining of vision problems, optometrists should follow the clinical maxim that says “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.”
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