title: Disparities between ambient, standard lighting and retinal acuities in community-dwelling older people: Implications for disability.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine three types of visual ability-ambient acuity, standard lighting acuity, and retinal acuity-and their relationship with self-reported disability.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional prevalence survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  New York, New York.
  
  
  METHODS
  Community-dwelling older people.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ambient acuity assessed using a near reading card; standard lighting acuity and retinal acuity assessed using the Retinal Acuity Meter. Difficulty in activities of daily living was assessed according to self-report.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean logMAR acuities were 0.44 (20/56) for ambient acuity, 0.33 (20/44) for standard lighting acuity, and 0.19 (20/31) for retinal acuity (all pairwise differences, P < .001). Given the distribution of disability by ambient acuity in this sample, improving ambient acuity to the level of retinal acuity could potentially reduce self-care disability 22%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Better utilization of retinal acuity through optimal ophthalmologic care and improvement in lighting would likely reduce disability in older adults.
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, USA. smalbert@pitt.edu
authors.forename: Steven M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Albert
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bear-Lehman
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Burkhardt
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D005139:Eyeglasses; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008029:Lighting / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D012648:Self Care; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000628:therapy; D014792:Visual Acuity