Published in:
01-06-2017
Does visual impairment affect social ties in late life? Findings of a multicenter prospective cohort study in Germany
Published in: The journal of nutrition, health & aging | Issue 6/2017
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Objective
To investigate how visual impairment affects social ties in late life longitudinally.
Design
Population-based prospective cohort study.
Setting
Individuals in old age were recruited via general practitioners’ offices (at six study centers) in Germany. They were interviewed every 18 months.
Participants
Individuals aged 75 years and above at baseline. Follow-up wave 2 (36 months after baseline, n=2,443) and wave 4 (72 months after baseline, n=1,618) were used for the analyses presented here.
Measurements
Social ties were assessed using the 14-item form of the questionnaire for social support (F-SozU K-14). Visual impairment was self-rated on a three level Likert scale (no impairment, mild visual impairment, or severe/profound visual impairment).
Results
Adjusting for sociodemographic factors, hearing impairment and comorbidity, fixed effects regressions revealed that the onset of mild visual impairment decreased the social support score, in particular the emotional support score. Additionally, the onset of mild hearing impairment decreased the social support score in men. Moreover, increasing age decreased the social support score in the total sample and in both sexes. Loss of spouse and increasing comorbidity did not affect the social support score.
Conclusion
Our results highlight the importance of visual impairment for social ties in late life. Consequently, appropriate strategies in order to delay visual impairment might help to maintain social ties in old age.