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Associations of self-reported vision impairment with depression symptoms among middle-aged and older Chinese

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Abstract

Background

Vision impairment (VI) and depression are highly prevalent among adults. However, few nationally representative studies from China on the self-reported VI and its association with depression symptoms.

Aims

This study re-estimated the relationship between self-reported VI and depression symptoms.

Methods

In this analysis, 62,525 respondents from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study 2011–2018 were included. Based on self-reports, respondents with VI were allocated to distance VI (DVI), near VI (NVI), both distance and near VI (DNVI), or a blindness group. Multivariable pooled logistic regression models were used to evaluate the groups' odds ratios (ORs) for depression symptoms and self-reported VI.

Results

Overall, 35.9% of the respondents were self-reported VI. DVI (OR: 1.51, 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 1.28–1.79) and DNVI (OR: 1.51, 95% CI: 1.21–1.88) showed the highest ORs for depression symptoms, followed by NVI (OR: 1.31, 95% CI: 1.11–1.54). Depression symptoms were associated with a significantly increased risk of DVI (OR: 1.49, 95% CI: 1.26–1.76), DNVI (OR: 1.49, 95% CI: 1.20–1.86), and NVI (OR: 1.29, 95% CI: 1.10–1.52), respectively. However, these associations between self-reported blindness and depression symptoms were not significant. All models provided similar results by excluding respondents aged 45–59 years.

Conclusion

Self-reported DVI, NVI, and DNVI are associated with depression symptoms. A strong reverse association was found between depression and self-reported DVI, NVI, and DNVI, but not for blindness. Our findings emphasize the urgent need for depression screening for self-reported VI among Chinese adults.

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Data availability

All data used in this research were sourced from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, 2011–2018. The data are openly available here: http://charls.pku.edu.cn/pages/data/111/zh-cn.html (accessed 11 May 2021).

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Funding

Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province, LGF21G030004, Yongmei Yang, Wenzhou Municipal Science and Technology Bureau, R2020016, Yongmei Yang.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Health and Management School, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China

    Yongmei Yang

  2. School of Economics and Finance, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China

    Jingxian Wu

  3. Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China

    Jun Jiang

  4. Foreign Language School, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China

    Jie Dong

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  1. Yongmei Yang
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  3. Jun Jiang
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  4. Jie Dong
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Correspondence to Yongmei Yang.

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This paper does not contain any studies with human participants not previously published and is in full agreement with ethical standards.

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The data in this study is from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLs), it is open, and any researcher can apply it online. No informed consent is required.

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Yang, Y., Wu, J., Jiang, J. et al. Associations of self-reported vision impairment with depression symptoms among middle-aged and older Chinese. Aging Clin Exp Res 34, 2117–2128 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-022-02158-0

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