title: Ten-year all-cause mortality and its association with vision among Indigenous Australians within Central Australia: the Central Australian Ocular Health Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  No studies to date have explored the association of vision with mortality in Indigenous Australians. We aimed to determine the 10-year all-cause mortality and its associations among Indigenous Australians living in Central Australia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective observational cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 1257 (93.0%) of 1347 patients from The Central Australian Ocular Health Study, over the age of 40 years, were available for follow-up during a 10-year period.
  
  
  METHODS
  All-cause mortality and its associations with visual acuity, age and gender were analysed.
  
  
  METHODS
  All-cause mortality.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All-cause mortality was 29.3% at the end of 10 years. Mortality increased as age of recruitment increased: 14.2% (40-49 years), 22.6% (50-59 years), 50.3% (60 years or older) (χ = 59.15; P < 0.00001). Gender was not associated with mortality as an unadjusted variable, but after adjustment with age and visual acuity, women were 17.0% less likely to die (t = 2.09; P = 0.037). Reduced visual acuity was associated with increased mortality rate (5% increased mortality per one line of reduced visual acuity; t = 4.74; P < 0.0001) after adjustment for age, sex, diabetes and hypertension.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The 10-year all-cause mortality rate of Indigenous Australians over the age of 40 years and living in remote communities of Central Australia was 29.3%. This is more than double that of the Australian population as a whole. Mortality was significantly associated with visual acuity at recruitment. Further work designed to better understand this association is warranted and may help to reduce this disparity in the future.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Flinders University, Flinders Medical Centre, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Ebony
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Flinders University, Flinders Medical Centre, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Soo K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Flinders University, Flinders Medical Centre, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Shyalle
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kahawita
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Flinders University, Flinders Medical Centre, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Nicholas H
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Andrew
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Alice Springs Hospital, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia.
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Henderson
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Flinders University, Flinders Medical Centre, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Jamie E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Craig
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Flinders University, Flinders Medical Centre, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Landers
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D002423:Cause of Death / Q000639:trends; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005544:Forecasting; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000208:ethnology*
keywords: Indigenous population; mortality; vision