Improving vision to prevent falls: a randomized trial

超过30%的澳大利亚老年人每年至少摔倒一次。视力不佳是澳大利亚老年人中另一个非常常见的问题，增加了跌倒的风险。事实上，最近来自蓝山眼科研究的证据表明，视力差是福尔斯和骨折的最大风险因素之一。我们的项目旨在评估改善视力是否会减少福尔斯和骨折的机会。我们将招募1200名年龄在75岁及以上的人，他们将在悉尼内西郊参加社区老年护理服务。如果他们同意参与，人们将被随机分配到干预组或对照组。干预组将接受一系列简单但全面的视力和视力测试。这些检查将由验光师在受试者家中或研究中心进行。我们之前的研究表明，近50%的受试者将受益于新眼镜，10%可能需要白内障手术。如有必要，治疗费用将由研究基金支付。有些视力问题是无法解决的。在这些情况下，职业治疗师将安排适当的家庭改造，以改善视觉相关的功能。将对受试者随访12个月，以评估干预组和对照组的福尔斯频率。我们希望在干预组中发现福尔斯减少33%。我们将对受试者再进行一年的随访，以确定骨折。

More than 30% of older Australians fall over at least once a year. Poor eyesight, another very common problem among older Australians, increases the risk of falling. In fact, recent evidence from the Blue Mountains Eye Study suggests that poor vision is one of the strongest risk factors for falls and fractures yet identied. Our project is designed to assess whether improving vision will decrease the chance of falls and fractures. We will recruit 1200 people aged 75 years and over from among those attending community-based aged care services in the inner western suburbs of Sydney. If they consent to participate, people will be randomly allocated to either an intervention or control group. Those in the intervention group will receive a simple, yet comprehensive, series of vision and eye tests. These tests will be done by an optometrist, either in subjects' homes or at the study centre. Our previous research suggests that nearly 50% of subjects will benefit from having new glasses and 10% might require cataract surgery. If necessary, treatment will be paid for from study funds. Some vision problems cannot be fixed. In these cases, an occupational therapist will arrange appropriate home modifications to improve vision-related function. Subjects will be followed-up for 12 months to assess the frequency of falls in the intervention and control groups. We hope to find a 33% reduction in falls in the intervention group. We will follow subjects for a further year to identify fractures.