Abstract
Presentation Description :
Studies dating as far back as the 1930’s have reported associations between visual impairment, age-related ocular conditions and increased mortality. More recent meta-analyses of these accumulating studies have documented that persons living with visual impairment, cataract, and late AMD are at a small but significantly increased risk of mortality (pooled hazard ratio [HR] range: 1.20-1.55). Adults living with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes and a diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy versus those without are at a larger increased risk of mortality (pooled HR: 2.57). A summary of findings from the field will be provided along with the introduction of a conceptual model that incorporates a life course perspective on the role of proximal and distal risk factor influences on the ocular system as a marker of aging processes which are in turn associated with increased mortality risk.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.