Coming into focus
Seniors with vision loss more likely to experience discrimination, depression
Seniors with declining vision are more likely than peers with good eyesight to experience discrimination as well as depression that may result from this bias, a new study from the U.K. suggests.
After surveying more than 7,000 men and women aged 50 and older, researchers determined that visual impairment was often met with disrespect and discrimination, according to the results published in JAMA Ophthalmology.
Those with poor eyesight who had experienced discrimination were more likely to report symptoms of depression and loneliness.
“Teaching coping strategies may help older people with poor vision mitigate the risks for mental health associated with discrimination, said the study’s lead author, Sarah Jackson, a research fellow at University College London.
“More importantly, there is a need for efforts to tackle the negative attitudes and discriminatory behaviour toward people with visual impairment in society,” Jackson said in an email.
To explore how visual impairment might affect seniors’ lives, Jackson and her colleagues turned to an ongoing research project called the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. For that study, followup interviews occurred every two years.
The new study was based on data collected between July 2010 and June 2011, the only time questions about discrimination were asked. The analysis included 7,677 participants, age 50 and older.
Along with rating their eyesight as “excellent, very good, good, fair or poor,” participants were asked “how good is your eyesight for seeing things up close, like reading ordinary newspaper print (excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor)?”
To assess possible discrimination, participants were asked about the frequency of five experiences, including: “you are treated with less respect or courtesy;” “you receive poorer service than other people in restaurants and stores” and “people act as if they think you are not clever.”
Out of the entire study group, 913 people reported poor overall eyesight and 658 reported poor eyesight close-up. Compared to those with good eyesight, those with poor eyesight were 41 per cent more likely to report discrimination.
Among participants with poor eyesight, those who reported discrimination were also more than twice as likely to report depressive symptoms and loneliness, and four times as likely to report lower quality of life and life satisfaction.
Vision expert Bonnielin Swenor said the study is “very important.”
“It’s showing that this has an impact on people’s mental health,” said Swenor, an associate professor at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md.