BackgroundTo investigate the relationship between clinical risk factors, including visual field (VF) defects and visual acuity, and a fear of falling, among patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG).MethodsAll participants answered the following question at a baseline ophthalmic examination: Are you afraid of falling? The same question was then answered every 12 months for 3 years. A binocular integrated visual field was calculated by merging a patient’s monocular Humphrey field analyzer VFs, using the ‘best sensitivity’ method. The means of total deviation values in the whole, superior peripheral, superior central, inferior central, and inferior peripheral VFs were calculated. The relationship between these mean VF measurements, and various clinical factors, against patients’ baseline fear of falling and future fear of falling was analyzed using multiple logistic regression.ResultsAmong 392 POAG subjects, 342 patients (87.2%) responded to the fear of falling question at least twice in the 3 years study period. The optimal regression model for patients’ baseline fear of falling included age, gender, mean of total deviation values in the inferior peripheral VF and number of previous falls. The optimal regression equation for future fear of falling included age, gender, mean of total deviation values in the inferior peripheral VF and number of previous falls.ConclusionDefects in the inferior peripheral VF area are significantly related to the development of a fear of falling.

Background: Although the consumption of vegetables and fruits is reported to influence the risk of cataract, no prospective study of this association from Asia has yet appeared. Here, we investigated the association between vegetable and fruit intake and cataract incidence in a large-scale population-based prospective cohort study in Japan. Methods: This study included 32,387 men and 39,333 women aged 45-74 years who had no past history of cataract and had completed a dietary questionnaire of the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Cohort Study. The incidence of cataract was evaluated after 5-year follow-up. We used multiple logistic regression analyses to estimate the sex-specific odds ratios (ORs), with adjustment for confounding factors. Results: We identified 1,836 incident cataracts in 594 men and 1,242 women. In men, the OR for cataract was decreased with higher intake of vegetables (OR Q5 vs Q1 , 0.77; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.59-1.01; P trend across quartile categories = 0.03) and cruciferous vegetables (OR Q5 vs Q1 , 0.74; 95% CI, 0.57-0.96; P trend = 0.02). In contrast, the OR for cataract was increased with higher intake of vegetables among women (OR Q5 vs Q1 , 1.28; 95% CI, 1.06-1.53; P trend = 0.01). Green and yellow vegetable and fruit intake were not associated with cataract in either sex. Conclusions: This study suggests that vegetables may reduce the risk of cataract in men, but not in women.

BackgroundThe aim of the study is to investigate risk factors for future falls in subject with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG).MethodsAll participants answered the following question at their baseline ophthalmic examination: Have you had any falls in the last year? (Yes/No). All study participants answered the same question every 12 months for 3 years. The means of total deviation values in the whole, superior peripheral, superior central, inferior central, and inferior peripheral visual fields (VF) were calculated. The relationship between these mean VF measurements, and various clinical factors against patients’ future falls was analyzed using multiple linear regression.ResultsTwo-hundred ninety four POAG patients answered the baseline and follow-up fall questionnaires over a period of three years. Among 294 subjects, 69 patients experienced a fall during the three-year follow-up. History of falls at baseline (coefficient = 1.22), history of fear of falling at baseline (0.53), best corrected visual acuity in the worse eye (7.37), prevalence of diabetes mellitus (0.60), prevalence of systemic hypertension (0.53) were selected in the optimal model.ConclusionsVisual acuity in the worse eye, history of falls, fear of falling, diabetes mellitus, and systemic hypertension are risk factors for falling in subjects with POAG.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12886-017-0613-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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