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Impact of self-reported visual impairment on quality of life in the Ibadan study of ageing

¹ Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
² Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria

Correspondence to:
Dr C O Bekibele, Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria; cob150{at}yahoo.com

Background: Information is lacking on the impact of visual impairment on the quality of life of elderly Africans. This study aims to examine the impact of self-reported visual impairment on the quality life of an elderly Nigerian sample.

Results: Four hundred and fifty-three (22.3%) of the respondents reported impairment for distant vision, 377 (18.4%) reported near vision, and 312 (15.2) reported impairment for both far and near. Impairment of near vision had a significant impact on all domains of quality of life. Distant vision had less impact, with a significant decrement only in the domain of environment. After adjusting for the possible effects of age, sex, and co-occurring chronic physical illness, near-vision impairment accounted for 3.92% decrement in the overall quality of life of elderly persons.

Conclusion: Impairment of vision is associated with significant decrement in diverse areas of quality of life in this elderly sample. Problems with near vision were nevertheless more likely than those of distant vision to affect quality of life.

Ethics approval: The survey was approved by the University of Ibadan/University College Hospital, Ibadan Joint Ethical Review Board.