Gender Differences in the Association between Physical Inactivity and Mental-Health Conditions in People with Vision or Hearing Impairment

Abstract

This study aimed to examine associations between physical inactivity and mental health in Spanish adults with vision or hearing difficulties and explored differences between men and women. Data from the Spanish National Health Survey in 2017 were analyzed (n = 23,089 adults, 15–103 years, mean age 53.4 ± 18.9 years, 45.9% men). Physical inactivity (exposure) was evaluated with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form. Participants self-reported whether they had previously suffered from depression, chronic anxiety and other mental-health complications (outcomes). Associations between physical inactivity and mental-health complications were assessed with multivariable logistic regression in people with difficulty seeing and hearing, after grouping by gender and adjusting for age, body-mass index, education level, living as a couple, smoking and alcohol consumption. The overall multivariable logistic-regression analyses showed that women with vision impairment showed significant associations between physical inactivity and depression (OR 1.403, 95% CI 1.015–1.940) and other mental-health complications (OR 2.959, 95% CI 1.434–6.104). In the overall analyses, there were no significant associations in men and in people with hearing impairment. The age-stratified analyses showed that inactive people with visual impairment who were <65 years old had a higher risk of mental-health conditions. In conclusion, physical activity has been shown to be important in the prevention of mental-health complications. Healthcare practitioners and policy makers should look at appropriate strategies to increase levels of physical activity in people with vision loss, especially in women and in those <65 years old.

Mental health support across the sight loss pathway: a qualitative exploration of eye care patients, optometrists, and ECLOs

“…The presence of an eye condition, becoming sight impaired, or severely sight impaired is undoubtedly a highly emotional experience [3]. For example, visual impairment has been independently associated with several mental health conditions, including depression [4][5][6][7], anxiety [5,6,8], and posttraumatic stress disorder [9]. Several studies report that eye care patients experience degrees of emotional trauma and may require some form of mental health support [10,11] which should not be limited to patients with recent diagnoses of an eye condition [10,12,13].…”