High prevalence of visual impairment found among older adults
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A study found that more than one in four U.S. adults aged 71 years and older are visually impaired, with increasing prevalence related to older age, less education, lower income, non-white race and Hispanic ethnicity.
Data were gathered from the National Health and Aging Trends Study, in which Medicare beneficiaries 65 years and older were tested for distance visual acuity, near visual acuity and contrast sensitivity using tablet-based tests. The WHO definition of visual impairment, based on binocular testing of vision with glasses or contact lenses, was adopted. A total of 3,026 participants were included in the analysis.
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The prevalence of distance visual impairment, near visual impairment and contrast sensitivity impairment in subjects aged 71 years and older was 10.3%, 22.3% and 10%, respectively. All types of visual impairment were associated with older age, less education and lower income. Near visual impairment and contrast sensitivity impairment were also associated with non-white race and Hispanic ethnicity. However, multivariable linear regression analysis suggested that the differences between racial and ethnic groups may be driven by factors such as education and income.
These findings “substantiate the need for additional research to disentangle individual- and community-level factors that shape vision health outcomes and access to eye care,” the authors wrote. In most cases, near visual impairment could be treated with inexpensive over-the-counter reading glasses and distance visual impairment with prescription glasses, but Medicare does not cover the cost of glasses except after cataract surgery, they noted.
Understanding the epidemiology of visual impairment in the older population is critical, given the fast growth of the older population in the U.S. Because visual impairment is also a significant risk factor for injurious falls, depression, cognitive decline and early mortality, “designing interventions to maximize visual function in this population is critical,” according to the authors.
“The up-to-date data presented in this study are vital for informing surveillance of vision health in the United States and may enable public health programs to target individuals at highest risk of poor vision,” they said.
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