Functional Associations of "Trouble Seeing"
Published In: Journal of General Internal Medicine, v. 12, no. 2, Feb. 1997, p. 125-128
Posted on RAND.org on January 01, 1997
Determines how vision problems affect health status. The information was collected from over 2,000 household heads and spouses over 50 years of age during an annual survey of a nationally representative sample that was adjusted for attrition and nonresponse. Vision problems were defined as trouble seeing (even with glasses or contact lenses). Regression analyses found a significant relationship between trouble seeing and each of five health-status domains. The major conclusion of this study is that it may not be appropriate to require specific functional limitations as a precondition for cataract surgery, and that instruments for measuring functional disabilities related to vision should include more general questions. As in the following article, this article once again indicates how eyesight affects functioning.
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