People with more severe vision impairment are at a higher risk of all-cause mortality as compared to those with normal vision or mild vision impairment, says a new study.
The findings indicated that the risk of mortality was 29 percent higher for participants with mild vision impairment as compared to normal vision. The risk increases to 89 percent among those with severe vision impairment.
“It’s important these issues are addressed early on because losing your vision affects more than just how you see the world; it affects your experience of the world and your life,” said researcher Joshua Ehrlich from the University of Michigan.
“This analysis provides an important opportunity to promote not only health and wellbeing, but also longevity by correcting, rehabilitating, and preventing avoidable vision loss across the globe,” Ehrlich added.
For the study, published in The Lancet Global Health, the research team examined a meta-analysis consisting of 48,000 people from 17 studies to better understand the association between visual disabilities and all-cause mortality.
Importantly, four of five cases of vision impairment can be prevented or corrected. Globally, the leading causes of vision loss and blindness are both avoidable: cataracts and the unmet need for glasses, the team said.
