Canadian researchers found that American adults 65 years and older were far more likely to have serious vision impairment if they lives in warmer regions compared to their peers who lived in cooler ones.
“This link between vision impairment and average county temperature is very worrying if future research determines that the association is causal,” Esme Fuller-Thomson, director of University of Toronto’s Institute of Life Course and Aging and first author of the study, “It was powerful to see that the link between vision impairment and temperature was consistent across so many demographic factors including income,” Elysia Fuller-Thomson, a graduate student at the University of Toronto and one of the study’s co-authors, said in the release.
Counties with an average temperature of less than 10 C were the coolest counties in the dataset. Researchers found that compared to those in the coolest regions, the risk of severe vision impairment was 14 per cent higher for those living in countries where the average temperature was between 10 and 12.7 C, and 24 per cent higher for those in counties between 12.7 and 15.4 C.
“We know that vision problems are a major cause of disabilities and functional limitations,” Deng said in the release. “Serious vision impairment, for example, can increase the risk of falls, fractures, and negatively impact older adults’ quality of life. Taking care of vision impairments and their consequences also cost the U.S. economy tens of billions each year. So, this link between temperature and vision impairment was quite concerning.