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Vision impairment in older adults tied to symptoms of depression, anxiety and social isolation: JAMA
USA: A cross-sectional study comprising 2822 US adults revealed that worse examination-based and self-reported vision impairment is associated with anxiety and depressive symptoms, and worse examination-based vision impairment is linked with severe social isolation.
These findings, published in JAMA Ophthalmology, provide evidence to support prioritizing research aimed at enhancing the health and inclusion of people with vision impairment.
Vision impairment and psychosocial function, including symptoms of anxiety, depression and social isolation, are a major cause of morbidity in the US. However, there is a lack of nationally representative studies evaluating associations between subjective and objective vision impairment with psychosocial function following the COVID-19 pandemic.
To address this knowledge gap, Louay Almidani, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, and colleagues provided updated national estimates on the associations of vision impairment with depressive and anxiety symptoms and social isolation in US adults 65 years and older.
The study was a cross-sectional analysis of the National Health and Aging Trends Study rounds 9 (2019) and 11 (2021), a nationally representative sample of Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years and above. Binocular distance visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and near visual acuity were tested.
Objectively measured vision impairment was defined as vision impairment in either distance visual acuity (worse than 20/40), near visual acuity (worse than 20/40), or contrast sensitivity (worse than 1.55 logCS). Self-reported vision impairment was defined based on participants’ reports on their vision status.
Depression and anxiety symptoms were assessed via the Patient Health Questionnaire. Social isolation was defined based on communication frequency, living arrangement, and activity participation responses.
The researchers reported the following findings:
- Among 2822 community-dwelling adults sampled from a population of 26 182 090, the mean age was 78.5 years; 54.7% were female; 32.3% had objectively measured vision impairment, and 6.4% had self-reported vision impairment.
- In adjusted models, all outcomes were significantly associated with objectively measured vision impairment, including depressive symptoms (odds ratio [OR], 1.81), anxiety symptoms (OR, 1.74), and severe social isolation (OR, 2.01).
- Depressive symptoms (OR, 2.37) and anxiety symptoms (OR, 2.10) but not severe social isolation symptoms (OR, 2.07) were significantly associated with self-reported vision impairment.
In the study, vision impairment was associated with several psychosocial outcomes, including symptoms of depression, anxiety and social isolation.
Reference:
Almidani L, Miller R, Varadaraj V, Mihailovic A, Swenor BK, Ramulu PY. Vision Impairment and Psychosocial Function in US Adults. JAMA Ophthalmol. Published online February 22, 2024. doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2023.6943
MSc. Biotechnology
Medha Baranwal joined Medical Dialogues as an Editor in 2018 for Speciality Medical Dialogues. She covers several medical specialties including Cardiac Sciences, Dentistry, Diabetes and Endo, Diagnostics, ENT, Gastroenterology, Neurosciences, and Radiology. She has completed her Bachelors in Biomedical Sciences from DU and then pursued Masters in Biotechnology from Amity University. She has a working experience of 5 years in the field of medical research writing, scientific writing, content writing, and content management. She can be contacted at  editorial@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751
Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751