Diabetes and Blurry Vision May Increase Fall Risk

Keeping clutter out of the way, practicing strengthening exercises, and taking these other steps can help reduce your risk of falls due to blurry vision.

By Beth W. Orenstein

Medically reviewed by Pat F. Bass III, MD, MS, MPH and Matthew Dombrow, MD

If you havetype 2 diabetes, an increased risk for vision loss can make you more prone to trips and falls.

And falling can cause injuries, especially for people who are older. A study in the Journal of Aging Research in 2013 concluded that when elderly people with diabetes fall, their injuries can be more serious and their recovery can be longer.

People with diabetes of any age are prone to falls for various reasons, says Adrian Vella, MD, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. These reasons include changes in blood sugar that can cause muscle weakness and fatigue, along with dizziness and numbness in the hands and feet. “If people can’t feel their feet, they can become very unstable,” he says.

People with diabetes may also be overweight and not as active as they should be, so they can easily become less steady on their feet and more likely to fall, Dr. Vella says.

Vision loss can also be associated with diabetes, especially if it’s not well controlled, and may be what causes a fall, Vella says.

Diabetes-Related Eye Complications

People with diabetes, especially those who’ve had the condition for a long time, can develop eye problems that can make them more prone to falls, says Raj Maturi, MD, clinical spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology and a retina specialist at the Midwest Eye Institute in Indianapolis. If people with diabetes develop cataracts or diabetic retinopathy, where the blood vessels that supply the retina become weak and leak, they can have difficulty seeing, he says. If they can’t see well, they can fall. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in August 2012 found that elderly people with cataracts were less likely to fall and break a hip if they had cataract surgery to restore their vision.

People with diabetes have an increased risk of vision loss because high blood sugar can weaken the blood vessels that supply blood to the eyes, Dr. Maturi says. The tiny blood vessels that supply blood to the retina, or the thin film at the back of the eye, can leak and bleeding can cause vision loss.