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.


METHODS
Prospective study.


METHODS
General practices (n = 53).


METHODS
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.
Evans
Jennifer R
JR
International Centre for Eye Health, Non-Communicable DiseaseEpidemiology Unit, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, England. jennifer.evans@lshtm.ac.uk
Smeeth
Liam
L
Fletcher
Astrid E
AE
D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D015986:Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006707:Homes for the Aged / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016012:Poisson Distribution; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012016:Reference Values; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D019987:Persons with Visual Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data