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Study: Socioeconomic factors predictive of undercorrected vision

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SYDNEY, Australia — Older age, measures of socioeconomic disadvantage and isolation are all predictive of a patient’s likeliness of living with undercorrected refractive error, according to a population-based study here.

The Blue Mountains Eye Study is a survey of 3,654 Australian residents between the ages of 49 and 97 that has yielded a series of publications in recent years.

According to this most recent report, 814 of the participants had undercorrected refractive errors, defined as an improvement of at least 10 letters on refraction in patients whose initial visual acuities were 6/9 or worse.

Older age (P <.001), hyperopia, longer interval from last eye examination (P <.001), past occupation as a trade worker or laborer, receipt of government pension and living alone were all associated with undercorrected refractive error. People who currently used spectacles or had used them in the past tended to have a lower prevalence of undercorrection.

The report is published in the August issue of the British Medical Journal.