title: Visual function versus visual acuity in older people.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine visual function (VF) status in older people, to establish its degree of correlation with visual acuity (VA), and to assess its association with other physical and mental functional limitations.
  
  
  METHODS
  A sample of 1,160 persons aged 65 years or over were selected by simple randomization.
  
  
  METHODS
  The participants' VF (The Visual Function Index - VF-14), VA, self-reported vision, mental and physical function (Katz Index, Pfeiffer's test, and Geriatric Depression Scale), and socio-demographic data were determined. Multiple linear regression was used to assess the association between VF and its conditioning factors. Statistical adjustment was made for the possible confounding variables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the studied subjects, 6.3% (95% confidence interval (CI) = 4.93-7.82) had VA of less than 6/18 in the better eye and 20.9% (95% CI = 18.6-23.3) had VA of less than 6/12. The best corrected VA of each participant demonstrated moderate correlation with his or her VF-14 score (r = 0.416; p < 0.001). Using multiple regression analysis, the variables associated with VF status were: visual impairment, self-reported poor vision, dependence in daily activities, cognitive impairment, depressive symptoms, female gender and older age. These independent variables explain 34.4% (r(2) = 0.344) of the variation in the data.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  VF impairment is common in older persons and when associated with other limitations, it may be considered a major health problem with important consequences. As a complement to the preventive care guidelines on VA in older persons, assessment of VF impairment in clinical practice, using appropriate visual screening tools, is advisable.
authors.affiliation: Health Care Service of Castilla-La Mancha (SESCAM), Albacete, Spain. jesusl@sescam.org
authors.forename: Jesús López-Torres
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Hidalgo
authors.forename: Ignacio Párraga
authors.initials: IP
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.forename: Beatriz Navarro
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Bravo
authors.forename: Fernando Andrés
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Pretel
authors.forename: Alejandro Villena
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Ferrer
authors.forename: Maria Angeles López
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Verdejo
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009799:Ocular Physiological Phenomena; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D015354:Vision, Low / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology*; D019987:Persons with Visual Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*