SYDNEY, Oct 20, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Vision problems are linked to shorter
lifespans in the elderly, Australian researchers say.
The study, published in the Archives of Ophthalmology, also linked
non-correctable vision problems with increased risk of death among those between
the ages of 49 and 74.
Visual impairment has been associated with a higher risk of death as well as
factors that may lead to increased death such as unintentional injury,
depression, lower body weight, reduced walking speeds, increased risk of falls,
self-reported difficulty in physical activity, cardiovascular disease, dementia
and cancer.
"Correction for these 'confounders' has been found to attenuate the association
between visual impairment and mortality, but the mechanisms behind the
association between visual impairment and mortality remain to be determined."
study leader Michael Karpa of Westmead Millennium Institute in Sydney said in a
statement.
Karpa and colleagues used data from the Blue Mountains Eye Study, which examined
visual impairment in 3,654 participants age 49 and older between 1992 and 1994
and after five and 10 years.
Thirteen years after baseline, 1,273 participants had died. A higher risk of
dying was associated with non-correctable visual impairment, with a stronger
association for participants younger than age 75.
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