[OCULAR DISEASES, FALLS AND HIP FRACTURES].

Background: Falls occur among old people and sometimes cause fractures in the hip. There are many reasons for falls.

Objectives: To examine which ocular diseases are frequent among old people who fell and had hip fractures; to verify whether the use of glasses can prevent fall events.

Methods: A survey was conducted on a sample of 100 patients, 63 women and 37 men, who fell and broke their hip between the years 2008 - 2012, were operated on and hospitalized for rehabilitation. Their mean age was 78+8.4 years old and mean weight, 69+14.4 kg. All these patients were examined by an ophthalmologist to detect ocular diseases.

Results: Only 67% of them suffered from ophthalmic disease. Among them, 49.3% suffered from problems in the anterior compartment of at least one eye, 32.8% in the posterior compartment and 17.9% in both compartments. The cataract was the most frequent disease (42%), and the second, was the retinopathy. We must mention that 77.6% of the patients who needed glasses were not using them at the time of the fall. The mean age of the patients who had no ocular disease was 4 years younger than the age of those who suffered from it (Independent t-test, p=0.0115 1-side).

Conclusions: Treatment for optic diseases and the use of glasses are important factors in falls prevention among the elderly.

Discussion: Elderly people are more prone to fall and break their hip than younger people. Even though it was not statistically proved, disorders in visual acuity and in the visual field, can cause falls among old people.