Of the 201 participants, slightly more than half were female (
n = 116, 58%), and the average age was 72 years (±16 years SD,
Table 1). All participants were legally blind. The most common cause of vision loss was AMD (50%), followed by RP (14%) and other retinal dystrophies (12%;
Table 1). On average, participants had been legally blind for 18 years, and were using just under eight different visual aids and devices each. Most participants were married or had a de facto partner (54%) and lived with someone (62%). Younger participants (<65 years) were less severely visually impaired (
P = 0.033), had been blind for longer (
P < 0.001), more often had a higher educational level (
P = 0.001), and reported fewer other health problems (
P < 0.001) and a better general health (
P = 0.015). Just fewer than 30% of participants suffered from anxiety, depression, or both (
Table 1).