title: The association between visual field defect severity and fear of falling in primary open-angle glaucoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine if glaucomatous visual field defect severity is associated with fear of falling.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a cross-sectional study. A total of 387 consecutive subjects with POAG were enrolled in this study along with 293-ocular disease-free control subjects, who were screened at the same institutions. We defined mild POAG as MD of -6 dB or better, moderate POAG as MD of -6 to -12 dB, and severe POAG as MD of -12 dB or worse in the better eye. All participants were requested to answer a questionnaire on fear of falling. Associations between POAG severity and the prevalence of fear of falling were evaluated with the Cochran-Armitage trend test. Multivariable factors including age-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for the prevalence of fear of falling and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were evaluated with logistic regression models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of fear of falling was 35/293 (11.9%) in the control group, 38/313 (12.1%) in the mild POAG group, 12/48 (25.0%) in the moderate POAG group, and 6/26 (23.1%) in the severe POAG group, and the trend was statistically significant (P = 0.028 Cochran-Armitage trend test). The adjusted ORs for prevalence in the mild, moderate, and severe POAG groups compared with that in the control group were 1.44 (95% CI: 0.83-2.51), 2.33 (95% CI: 1.00-5.44), and 4.06 (95% CI: 1.39-11.90), respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Among patients with POAG, the severity of visual field defects is associated with fear of falling. (http://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/index.htm number, UMIN000005574.).
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Kenya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yuki
authors.forename: Sachiko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tanabe
authors.forename: Keisuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kouyama
authors.forename: Kazumi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fukagawa
authors.forename: Miki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Uchino
authors.forename: Masaru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shimoyama
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ozeki
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shiba
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ozawa
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tsubota
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D005902:Glaucoma, Open-Angle / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007429:Intraocular Pressure; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011788:Quality of Life; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012607:Scotoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D058609:Visual Field Tests; D014794:Visual Fields
keywords: fear of falling; glaucoma; quality of life; visual field