Risk of admission to a nursing home among older people with visual impairment in Great Britain.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the risk of nursing home admission in a representative sample of older, visually impaired, community-dwelling people 75 years and older living in Great Britain.

DESIGN

Prospective study.

SETTING

General practices (n = 53).

PARTICIPANTS

Participants in the Medical Research Council trial of assessment and management of older people in the community (N = 14 037). Main Outcome Measure Nursing home admission (nursing or residential care).

RESULTS

After a mean of 4 years' follow-up, 14.1% of visually impaired participants were living in nursing homes (95% confidence interval [CI], 11.9%-16.3%; age- and sex-adjusted risk ratio, 1.47 [95% CI, 1.25-1.73]). Adjusting for a wide range of confounding factors eliminated this significant association (risk ratio, 1.08 [95% CI, 0.91-1.28]).

CONCLUSIONS

The association between visual impairment and risk of nursing home admission was eliminated after controlling for a wide range of other confounding factors and comorbidities. This underlines the importance of taking a wider view of an older person's health rather than focusing on a single impairment or disability.