A recent research, titled "Population Prevalence of Vision Impairment in US Adults 71 Years and Older" published in JAMA Ophthalmology, provides a sobering look at the scope of vision impairments among the aging population in the US, discovering that 27.8% of those 71 and older have some sort of visual impairment (VI).
As per the Review of Optometry, the researchers emphasized that these new national epidemiological estimates were highly required because previous ones describing the prevalence in the US were at least 14 years old. The techniques of assessment were also modified, as previous estimates were based on self-reported data and measurements of visual function.
Factors Linked to Vision Impairment
In the study, participants were given a tablet-based test of distant and near visual acuity and contrast sensitivity with habitual adjustment. Distance visual acuity abnormalities were detected in 10.3% of the 3026 patients, close acuity impairments in 22.3%, and contrast sensitivity impairments in 10.0%.
The authors observed in their research that the result that more than one-quarter of persons 71 and older had some sort of vision impairment was greater than earlier estimates. All VI categories were also associated with older age, lesser education, and income.
More so, being of any non-white ethnicity was also associated with near VI and contrast sensitivity deficiencies, with non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic groups suffering the most.
Despite this finding, race and ethnicity were not linked with visual function measurements, suggesting that disparities between race and ethnic groups could be due to socioeconomic factors, like wealth and education.
Visual Aid Provides No Significant Benefit Against Vision Impairment
The press release from Michigan Medicine reports that Many elderly people with VI just require new eyeglasses to correct their condition, but many persons suffer financial hurdles to care.
Traditional Medicare, the primary insurer of older persons in the United States, for example, only gives eyewear insurance after cataract surgery, forcing many adults to pay for their visual aids out of cash.
The authors said that it is important to understand the epidemiology of VI and blindness in the aging population in the US because they are the fastest-growing age group in the country and may also be at high risk for such downstream sequelae of VI as injurious falls, depression, cognitive decline, and early mortality.
They noted that it would be impossible to establish if enhancing access has been successful or that other negative tendencies are at work if there is no surveillance data. Another author also pointed out that the findings could help public health outcomes, especially in assisting individuals with VI.
The data for the study came from The National Health and Aging Trends Study, which is located at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research and the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.
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