142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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309543
Severity of Vision Impairment and Health-Related Quality of Life among Community Residents Aged 40-64 Years: Findings from the 2006-2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014 : 1:10 PM - 1:30 PM

John E. Crews, DPA , National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Vision Health Initiative, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Chiu-Fang Chou, Dr PH , The Vision Health Initiative, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/The DB Consulting, Atlanta, GA
Matthew M. Zack, MD, MPH , NCCDPHP, Division of Adult and Community Health, State Support, Arthritis, Epilepsy, and Quality of Life Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Xinzhi Zhang, MD, PhD , National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda,, MD
Jinan B. Saaddine, MD, MPH , National Vision Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Objectives: Because little information is available regarding quality of life among working aged people with vision impairment, we examined the association between severity of vision impairment and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among people aged 40-64 years.

Methods: We used responses from 101,979 adults aged 40 to 64 years in the 2006-2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). We classified respondents as having no, a little, or moderate/severe vision impairment.  We examined the association between severity of visual impairment and self-reported HRQoL--fair or poor self-rated health, frequent (14 or more) physically unhealthy days, frequent mentally unhealthy days, frequent activity limitation days, life dissatisfaction, and disability.  We used logistic regression to adjust for covariates such as socio-economic variables, multiple chronic conditions, smoking status, exercise, and body-mass index. We considered differences statistically significant at p<0.05.

Results: In 2006-2010, compared to respondents without vision impairment and after adjusting for potential confounders, those with moderate/severe vision impairment reported significantly more fair or poor health (odds ratio [OR]=1.91; 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.65-2.21), frequent physically unhealthy days  (OR=1.57; 95%CI=1.34-1.85), frequent mentally unhealthy days (OR=1.66; 95%CI=1.42-1.94), frequent activity limitation days (OR=1.93; 95%CI=1.55-2.42), life dissatisfaction (OR=1.89; 95%CI=1.56-2.31), and disability (OR=2.02; 95%CI=1.86-2.19).

Conclusion: People aged 40-64 years reporting moderate-severe vision impairment had poorer HRQoL using the six BRFSS HRQoL measures compared to their counterparts with no vision impairment.  Additional research might help to reduce vision impairment and improve quality of life for this age group.

Learning Areas:

Epidemiology
Provision of health care to the public
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Describe the association between severity of vision impairment and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among people aged 40-64 years.

Keyword(s): Vision Care, Health Disparities/Inequities

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have worked for 40 years in vision and vision rehabilitation and have over 100 publications in this area.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3289.0: Preventing vision loss and promoting eye health across the lifespan