Institute for Life Course & Aging, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Ophthalmic Epidemiol. 2024 Apr;31(2):119-126. doi: 10.1080/09286586.2023.2221727. Epub 2023 Jun 20.
Several small studies have associated exposure to elevated average temperature with specific vision problems. However, no large-scale studies have examined the relationship between vision impairment and average area temperature in the general population. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of a large nationally representative sample of older adults to further explore this relationship.
Secondary analysis of the American Community Survey (ACS). The survey was conducted through mail, telephone and in-person interviews. Data from six consecutive years of the cross-sectional survey were analysed (2012-2017). The subsample analysed included community-dwelling and institutionalized older adults aged 65 and older in the coterminous US who lived in the same state in which they were born ( = 1,707,333). The question on severe vision impairment was "Is this person blind or does he/she have serious difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses?". Average annual temperature data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was combined into a 100-year average and mapped to corresponding US Census Bureau's public use microdata areas from the ACS.
Higher average temperature is consistently associated with increased odds of severe vision impairment across all cohorts (i.e. age, sex, race, income, and educational attainment cohorts) with the exception of Hispanic older adults. Compared to those who lived in counties with average temperature of < 50 °F (< 10 °C) , the odds of severe vision impairment were 44% higher in counties with average temperature of 60 °F (15.5 °C) or above (OR 1.44; 95% CI 1.42-1.46).
If the association is found to be causal, the predicted rise in global temperatures could impact the number of older Americans affected by severe vision impairment and the associated health and economic burden.
有几项小型研究表明，暴露在较高的平均温度下与特定的视力问题有关。然而，没有大规模的研究调查过一般人群中视力障碍与平均区域温度之间的关系。我们对一个大型的全国代表性老年人样本进行了横断面分析，以进一步探讨这种关系。
对美国社区调查（ACS）进行二次分析。该调查通过邮件、电话和面对面访谈进行。对连续六年的横断面调查数据进行了分析（2012-2017 年）。分析的子样本包括 65 岁及以上的居住在其出生地所在州的社区居住和机构居住的老年人（=1707333）。严重视力障碍的问题是“这个人是否失明或即使戴着眼镜也有严重的视力困难？”。国家海洋和大气管理局的平均年温度数据被合并成一个 100 年的平均值，并与 ACS 中的相应美国人口普查局的公共使用微数据区域进行了映射。
除了西班牙裔老年人外，在所有队列（即年龄、性别、种族、收入和教育程度队列）中，较高的平均温度与严重视力障碍的几率增加一致相关。与那些生活在平均温度低于 50°F（10°C）的县的人相比，生活在平均温度为 60°F（15.5°C）或以上的县的人，严重视力障碍的几率高出 44%（OR 1.44；95%CI 1.42-1.46）。
如果这种关联被发现是因果关系，预计全球气温的上升可能会影响到受严重视力障碍影响的美国老年人的数量，以及相关的健康和经济负担。
