Nonmetro residence and impaired vision among elderly Americans.

PURPOSE: Nonmetro and metro elderly people are contrasted in their risk of having (relative to lacking) an impairment in distance vision and in near vision.

METHODS

Using the 1995-1996 panel (Wave 2) of the Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old (AHEAD) Survey, the prevalence of 5 eye-threatening conditions (cardiovascular disease, cataract, diabetes, glaucoma, and hypertension), a variety of medical treatments for these conditions, the number of talks/visits with doctors in the 2 years before Wave 2, and several relevant demographic characteristics of the 6,817 respondents were controlled.

FINDINGS: Nonmetro and metro elders have the same risk of impairment in distance vision. After controlling for other factors, nonmetro elders have a higher risk than their metro peers of an uncorrected impairment in near vision (probably presbyopia).

CONCLUSIONS

Nonmetro elders may confront more impediments to updating their corrective lenses for presbyopia. Implications for public health policy are discussed.