Bifocals Can Be Dangerous

Is wearing bifocal glasses a risk factor for falls?  A study reported in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society suggests that it may be.  A Falls Laboratory in New South Wales, Australia, conducted the study in 30 community-living adults over 65 or older.

The subjects were tested for the number of times they bumped into obstacles ands the time taken under different conditions: either wearing glasses with single focal or multi-focal lenses, and either dual-tasking (reading a series of letters presented at eye level), or without having a second task.

The results showed that the participants bumped into more objects and took longer when walking with divided attention due to multi-focal glasses, compared to when they wore single-focal lenses. This was apparently due to failure to compensate for bifocals by tilting the head down, but rather tilting the eyes down, so that they looked through the lower segment of the glass. 

Multifocal glasses wearers need to practice lowering their head to see clearly where they are walking, such as going down stairs.  Otherwise they are at greater risk of falling than single focal lens users.  (As a bifocal lens wearer, I can vouch for this.)