Abstract
Purpose :
To document prevalence and correlates of vision impairment (VI) and age-related eye diseases in a cohort of post-menopausal women.
Methods :
The Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN) is a multi-ethnic population based study of midlife and the menopausal transition. At the Michigan site, a comprehensive eye examination including detailed vision assessment was conducted between 2016-17. Participants underwent vision assessment that included measurement of presenting visual acuity (VA) using their habitual correction and VA following refraction to assess their best corrected visual acuity (BCVA). Anterior segment assessment using slit lamp, gonioscopy, and posterior segment evaluation following dilation were conducted. Intraocular pressure was measured using applanation tonometry and visual fields were tested using frequency doubling technique. Optical coherence tomography of the macula and optic nerve were done. VI was defined as VA 20/40 or worse and was based on the better eye measurements. Logistic regression models were used to assess the association of VI, age-related eye diseases and sociodemographic factors.
Results :
255 women (mean age = 66.0 years) participated in the eye protocol, 62.4% of whom were black and 37.7% were white. Prevalence of VI and age-related eye diseases are presented in the table below. The majority of presenting VI (74%) was due to uncorrected or inadequately corrected refractive errors. Reporting difficulty paying for basic needs was a significant and independent correlate of presenting VI (adjusted odd ratio (OR) = 3.07, 95% CI (1.20, 7.90)). With respect to age-related eye diseases, difficulty paying for basics was significantly associated with diabetic retinopathy (adjusted OR = 4.04, 95% CI (1.27, 12.92)) and hypertensive retinopathy (adjusted OR = 2.55, 95%CI (1.37, 4.75)), while age (adjusted OR = 1.34, 95% CI (1.10, 1.63)) and education (adjusted OR = 6.47, 95% CI (1.17, 35.92)) were significantly associated with a diagnosis of dense cataract affecting vision.
Conclusions :
The majority of presenting VI was due to uncorrected or inadequately corrected refractive errors. Financial strain was an important correlate of presenting VI and age-related eye diseases.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.