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Background and Purpose: In a previous study comparing the amount of visual field damage at presentation in patients having open‐angle glaucoma (OAG) identified through screening and in patients diagnosed in routine clinical practice in the 1990s, the damage was considerably worse in the clinically diagnosed patients. In the present study we compare visual field damage at presentation in the same 402 screened patients with that seen in 281 newly detected previously untreated patients clinically diagnosed in the 2010s. Methods: The perimetric visual field index mean deviation (MD) was compared in the two groups of patients. Results: In the clinical patients diagnosed with bilateral visual field damage the median MD was −5.1 dB in the better eye and −13.0 dB in the worse eye. In the screened patients the median MD in the better eye was −6.5 dB and −11.5 dB in the worse eye. The differences between the clinical and screened patients were non‐significant, p = 0.28 and p = 0.67 respectively. More clinical patients had severe visual field loss, defined as MD less than −20 dB, in the worse eye than in the screened patients, 18.5% versus 12.7% respectively, p = 0.037. Conclusion: The visual field damage at presentation in clinically diagnosed OAG patients has improved in the past 20 years, but the proportion of patients with severe visual field loss in at least one eye, almost 20%, is still unacceptably high considering that severe visual field damage at presentation is the most important risk factor for later development of glaucoma blindness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jeanette Källstrand-Eriksson,1 Cathrine Hildingh,1 Boel Bengtsson2 1School of Health and Welfare, Halmstad University, Halmstad, 2Department of Clinical Sciences in Malmö, Ophthalmology, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the performance-based visual ability among independently living elderly subjects and to investigate whether there was any association between visual ability and falls.Subjects and methods: A total of 298 randomly selected subjects aged 70–85 years were invited for an examination including monocular and binocular visual acuity (VA), contrast sensitivity (CS), stereoscopic vision, and monocular visual fields (VFs), which were integrated to estimate the binocular VFs. Type of lenses used in their habitual correction was noted.Results: Out of the 212 subjects who were examined, 38% reported at least one fall and 48% of these reported at least two falls during the last 2 years. Most subjects had normal results; 90% had normal binocular VA, 85% had normal binocular CS, and ~80% had positive stereopsis. Twenty-nine subjects had VF defects in the lower quadrants of the binocular VF, and 14 of these reported at least one fall. A significant association was seen between one fall or more and VA better eye, the odds ratio (OR) was 2.26, P=0.013, and between recurrent falls and lack of stereoscopic vision, the OR was 3.23, P=0.002; no other functional test showed any significant association with recurrent falls. The ORs were 1.58 for worse binocular VA, 0.60 for worse binocular CS, and 0.71 for non-normal stereoscopic vision for at least one fall, but wide confidence intervals made it difficult to draw firm conclusions about any association. Bifocal or progressive spectacles were worn by 71% with no significant difference between fallers and nonfallers (P=0.078).Conclusion: Even though ~40% of the total sample had experienced one or more falls, the only visual function test significantly associated with falls were VA better eye, lack of stereoscopic vision, and recurrent falls. Our results suggest that there may be more powerful predictors of falling than decreased visual ability. Keywords: elderly, falls, independently living, visual ability

Research presented concerns social and psychological aspects of human interaction with computer interfaces that are designed to appear human-like, focusing on how human subjects interpret information and credibility with computer partners versus other human partners. Topics addressed include interactivity, computers as social actors, and the nature of influence.

Previous studies have established correlations between vitamin D and sex, age, intact parathyroid hormone and seasonal sun exposure. To corroborate these findings, researchers studied a representative population sample of men and women in Sweden. Screening procedures for the WHO Monitoring Trends and Determinants in Cardiovascular Diseases projects were used to select the sample. Results indicate that sunlight affects calcidiol, but not calcitriol, concentrations.