Poor Vision, Functioning, and Depressive Symptoms: A Test of the Activity Restriction Model

Abstract

Supporting the activity restriction model, poorer self-rated vision in late life contributes to lower mental health directly and also indirectly by restricting individuals' ability to carry out routine day-to-day physical activities and increasing their feelings of social isolation. Interventions for older adults with vision-related problems could focus on maintaining or enhancing their physical and social functioning in order to promote their adaptation to poor vision.

Depression screening among older adults attending low‐vision rehabilitation and eye‐care services: Characteristics of those who screen positive and client acceptability of screening

“…It may be the level of disability associated with the vision loss that increases the risk of depression rather than visual impairment itself. For example, a recent study using a probability-based sample showed that physical limitations and social isolation were the mechanisms by which older adults developed depression, irrespective of the degree of vision loss [24].…”

Suicide and Visual Loss: A Case Report Reflecting the Need for Recognition and Management in Ophthalmological Settings

“…14 Studies suggest instead that the relationship between VI and depression is mediated by declining function and social isolation. [13][14][15][16] The relationship between vision and depression may not be simply unidirectional. In 2000, Friberg and colleagues reported that two-thirds of patients presenting for inpatient admission for depression reported diminished perception of ambient light.…”

Update on depression and age-related macular degeneration

“…Bookwala et al [19**] explored this phenomenon in an in-depth study that delineated pathways linking impaired vision to depression in older people. Results showed that physical limitations and social isolation are the mechanisms by which older people with impaired vision develop depression.…”