Honingh Aline K, Kok Astrid, Mesker Mitchel, Ket Johannes C F, Olsman Erik, Veneberg Bert, Sterkenburg Paula S
Department of Clinical Child and Family Studies, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Medical Library, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. 2025 May;45(3):713-725. doi: 10.1111/opo.13472. Epub 2025 Mar 3.
The ageing process of adults with a disability may differ from the typical ageing process, yet few studies have addressed ageing of adults who are blind. However, a broad scope of literature exists on ageing with a visual impairment that includes adults who are blind. People who are blind may age differently than people with a visual impairment. Furthermore, it cannot be inferred from studies on the ageing of visually impaired adults that changes are due to the ageing process alone, since vision may decline further as well. This article presents a scoping review of studies on the ageing of adults who are blind, examining the areas of decline due to ageing, differences compared to non-blind adults, additional contributing factors and support. A systematic literature search was performed from inception up to July-October 2023 in Scopus, Medline, Embase, CINAHL, APA PsycInfo and Web of Science. Thirteen articles met the eligibility criteria. Analysis led to four broad areas: physical, sensory, cognitive and psychological. In several of these areas, the decline due to ageing was similar for people who were blind or non-blind. Declines specific to people who were blind were in spatial memory and engagement to the outer world. Two abilities were identified where blind people outperformed sighted people: attention and working memory and active tactile acuity. Overall, ageing blind adults were shown to have additional risks and hence need extra support. Interventions may focus on physical and cognitive exercise, braille training, risk screening, education and social activities. More research is needed to replicate studies and disambiguate results, to include areas that have not been investigated specifically for this group, to differentiate between different types of blindness and to investigate systematically the needs and support of blind adults who are ageing.
残疾成年人的衰老过程可能与典型的衰老过程有所不同，但很少有研究涉及盲人成年人的衰老问题。然而，关于包括盲人在内的视力障碍者衰老的文献范围很广。盲人的衰老方式可能与视力障碍者不同。此外，从视力障碍成年人衰老的研究中不能推断出这些变化仅仅是由于衰老过程导致的，因为视力也可能进一步下降。本文对盲人成年人衰老的研究进行了范围综述，考察了因衰老而出现衰退的领域、与非盲人成年人相比的差异、其他影响因素以及支持情况。从创刊至2023年7月至10月在Scopus、Medline、Embase、CINAHL、APA PsycInfo和Web of Science数据库中进行了系统的文献检索。13篇文章符合纳入标准。分析得出四个广泛领域：身体、感官、认知和心理。在其中几个领域，盲人或非盲人因衰老而出现的衰退情况相似。盲人特有的衰退表现在空间记忆和与外部世界的互动方面。确定了盲人表现优于有视力者的两种能力：注意力和工作记忆以及主动触觉敏锐度。总体而言，衰老的盲人成年人显示出有额外的风险，因此需要额外的支持。干预措施可侧重于身体和认知锻炼、盲文训练、风险筛查、教育和社会活动。需要更多研究来重复这些研究并消除结果的歧义，纳入尚未专门针对该群体进行研究的领域，区分不同类型的失明，并系统地调查衰老的盲人成年人的需求和支持情况。
