708
Views
1
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Research Article

Population-Based Projection of Vision-Related Disability in Australia 2020 – 2060: Prevalence, Causes, Associated Factors and Demand for Orientation and Mobility Services

ORCID Icon, , , , & ORCID Icon
Pages 516-525 | Received 20 Jul 2020, Accepted 08 Jan 2021, Published online: 20 Jan 2021
 

ABSTRACT

Purpose

To project the prevalence, causes, associated factors of vision-related disability and demand for orientation and mobility (O&M) services in Australia from 2020 to 2060.

Methods

The age-specific prevalence and main causes of vision-related disability were estimated based on primary data of 74,862 participants in 2015 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers. Logistic regression analyses were performed to identify associated factors for the outcome variables including vision-related disability, cataract, macular degeneration and glaucoma. Future prevalence of vision-related disability and demand for O&M services were forecasted using the population projections by the Australian Bureau of Statistics through 2060.

Results

The main causes of vision-related disability are non-specific sight loss, cataracts, macular degeneration and glaucoma. Health-related associations for vision-related disability are older age, having a history of stroke, having diabetes, depression, heart disease and hearing impairment. The number of Australians with vision-related disability (283,650, 1.10%) and demand for O&M services (123,317, 0.48%) in 2020 will increase to 559,161 (1.38%) and 237,694 (0.59%) respectively in 2060.

Conclusions

The number of people with vision-related disability and in need of O&M services in Australia will grow exponentially over the coming decades. General health promotion and specific strategies of early detection and timely treatments of the major eye diseases may ameliorate the trend in vision-related disability.

Supplementary materials

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website.

Additional information

Funding

There is no financial support provided for this study.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.