Credit: Cottonbro Studio

A US study, published in JAMA Ophthalmology, has shown home modifications, particularly to lighting, can improve physical activity levels in visually impaired older adults.

Led by Dr Seema Banerjee from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the research team assessed 153 participants, all of whom were aged over 60 years and had been diagnosed with primary glaucoma or were glaucoma suspects. The team found with each 0.1 log unit increase in average measured home lighting, participants took 5% more daily steps and, on average, walked 3% faster. The number of domestic hazards was not associated with any activity metric, said authors.