Glaucoma patients at higher risk of road accidents

Older drivers with glaucoma are more likely to be involved in road accidents, according to new research carried out by Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia.

The four-year analysis looked at the relationship between moderate glaucoma and motor vehicle accidents. Of 142 patients with moderate glaucoma and a mean age of 64 who drove, almost 11% reported being involved in an accident over the course of the study. In contrast, only 1.1% of all drivers aged over 61 reported involvement in a road accident in a 2017 Pennsylvania Crash Facts and Statistics report.

‘Our study found seven to 10 participants each year reported they gave up driving due to vision over the four years, with a total of 25% of patients over the course of the study turning in their car keys,’ said co-author of the study Sheryl Wizov.