The prevalence of visual impairment, its risk factors, and its consequences to Canada

Canada does not have high quality data on the frequency of visual impairment or eye disease. Previous studies have either applied US rates to the Canadian population or have relied on small samples that may not be representative of the Canadian population. The CLSA provides a rich opportunity to fill this glaring need. Our team will provide national and provincial prevalence rates of visual impairment and self-reported eye disease. We will examine risk factors including geographic, socio-demographic, health, social, and behavioral factors. We will also examine potential mobility, mental health, disability, and employment consequences of vision loss. These data will provide policymakers with accurate Canadian data on the problem of visual impairment and eye disease so that they can ensure adequate healthcare resources for the future of our aging population.

Canada needed higher quality population-based data on the prevalence of visual impairment and eye disease. Previous studies had either extrapolated US rates to the Canadian population, relied on population-based samples with a poor or unknown response rate, used self-report of vision problems, or surveyed patients in a single city. Given that so many eye diseases increase in prevalence with age, it is very important to have accurate Canadian data on the prevalence of visual impairment and its risk factors. We found that 5.7% of Canadian adults in the CLSA Comprehensive Cohort had visual impairment. Risk factors for visual impairment included older age, lower household income, current smoking, diabetes, memory problems, and certain provinces. Newfoundland and Labrador had the highest prevalence of visual impairment. We found that 57% of Canadian adults visited an eye care provider in the last year. Risk factors for not using eye care were current smoking, male sex, less education, less income, and certain provinces. Eye care use was lowest in Newfoundland and Labrador. We found that people with worse vision had worse balance, which can lead to falls. Finally, we found that people with visual impairment were more likely to use home care than people without visual impairment. These data provide policymakers and vision health organizations with accurate Canadian data on the problem of visual impairment so that they can ensure adequate future healthcare resources.