Poor social determinants of health tied to vision loss

Social determinants of health (SDOH), across multiple domains, are associated with vision loss, according to a study published online April 6 in JAMA Ophthalmology.

Katelin M. Alfaro Hudak, Ph.D., from NORC at the University of Chicago, and colleagues examined associations between SDOH and examination-based and self-reported vision loss. The analysis included data from more than 3.6 million individuals across three national surveys.

The researchers found that SDOH across five domains of economic stability, educational attainment, health care access and quality, neighborhood and built environment, and social context were significant predictors of poor vision.

Among three data sets, for example, higher income was associated with lower odds of vision loss (poverty-to-income ratio: odds ratio [OR], 0.91 and 0.93; categorical income [<$15,000] compared with $15,000 to $24,999: OR, 0.91; $25,000 to $34,999: OR, 0.80; $35,000 to $49,999: OR, 0.71; ≥$50,000: OR, 0.49). Similar associations were seen for employment (OR, 0.66 and 0.55) and owning a home (OR, 0.85, 0.82, and 0.79). Findings were also similar for measures of both clinically evaluated and self-reported vision.

"Using self-reported vision data can be used as a proxy measure to monitor SDOH and vision at the local level and over time," the authors write.