Associations of self-reported vision problems with health and psychosocial functioning: A 9-year longitudinal perspective

Abstract

Impaired vision often results in restrictions across diverse key indicators of successful aging. However, little is known about how impaired vision affects the long-term trajectories of these outcomes, whether effects are moderated by age, and whether psychosocial resources beyond well-being such as subjective age views are also affected by vision loss. We analyzed how self-reported vision problems as a time-varying predictor are related to long-term changes in health and cognitive ability (functional health, number of chronic diseases, self-rated health, information processing speed), well-being (life satisfaction, positive and negative affect, depressive symptoms, loneliness), and subjective age views (subjective age; aging-related cognitions: social loss, physical decline, continuous growth). Our sample was derived from the German Ageing Survey, comprising 6,378 individuals (40–89 years) who provided up to four observations over a 9-year period. Controlling for gender, age, education, and functional as well as self-rated health, we observed that both on a between- and a within-person level, indicators of successful aging were consistently less favorable among individuals with more vision problems. Associations between vision problems and functional health became stronger with advancing age. In contrast, with increasing age, vision problems were less closely associated with change in several indicators of psychosocial functioning. Our findings suggest that self-reported visual impairment is associated with restrictions across a broad range of developmental domains. Some detrimental effects of vision problems are augmented in later life, whereas several effects on well-being and subjective age views were attenuated with advancing age, which might indicate processes of late-life adaptation to vision loss.

Longitudinal associations between perceived stress and views on aging: Evidence for reciprocal relations.

“…However, only one view on aging indicator, namely subjective age, was less affected by prior stress with advancing age. Subjective age is different from the other views on aging included as it is less evaluative and more “intuitive.” It is, when assessed as proportional discrepancy score, also relatively stable over time and age (Kleinspehn-Ammerlahn et al, 2008; Rubin & Berntsen, 2006; Uotinen et al, 2006; Wettstein, Spuling, et al, 2020), with individuals over 60 years feeling on average 13%–18% younger than they are (Pinquart & Wahl, 2021). However, despite this age-related stability in subjective age, predictors of subjective age might still change in their impact with advancing age: With increasing age, associations of subjective age with health seem to become stronger (Bergland et al, 2014; Hubley & Russell, 2009; Stephan et al, 2012).…”

Perceived Stress Predicts Subsequent Self-Reported Problems With Vision and Hearing: Longitudinal Findings From the German Ageing Survey

“…Impaired vision and hearing pose a severe challenge on successful aging ( Jang et al, 2003 ; Swenor et al, 2019 ; Wettstein et al, 2020 ) by affecting various developmental domains. Specifically, individuals with impaired sensory functioning have lower functional ability as well as a higher risk of disability than sensory unimpaired individuals ( Chen et al, 2015 ; Liljas et al, 2016a ).…”

Telemedycyna a niepełnosprawność wzrokowa – szanse, zagrożenia, wyzwania

“…Dysfunkcja wzroku oddziałuje zarówno na funkcjonowanie fizyczne, jak i na dobrostan psychospołeczny osób nią dotkniętych (Court, McLean, Guthrie, Mercer, Smith, 2014). Wyniki badań wskazują, że w porównaniu z osobami bez niepełnosprawności wzrokowej osoby słabowidzące i niewidome mają niższy poziom zdrowia funkcjonalnego i deklarowanego w samoocenie, częściej zapadają na choroby przewlekłe oraz doświadczają niższego poziomu dobrostanu rozumianego jako satysfakcja z życia, pozytywny afekt, brak objawów depresyjnych i poczucia samotności (Wettstein, Spuling, Hans-Werner-Wahl, 2021). Z niepełnosprawnością wzrokową związane są szczególne potrzeby i trudności ujawniające się w trakcie hospitalizacji (Waterman, Webb, 1992;Carlson, Howe, Pedersen, Yoder, 2020) oraz korzystania ze świadczeń ambulatoryjnych, m.in.…”