Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Vision disability places elderly individuals at risk for a variety of negative health-related outcomes. This study examined the prevalence and factors associated with self-reported vision disability among elderly people in Malaysia. METHODS: Data for 3932 respondents in this study were drawn from the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2018, a nationwide cross-sectional study conducted among those individuals aged 60 years old and above in Malaysia. Respondents were recruited using stratified cluster sampling, covering both urban and rural areas from all states. Self-reported vision disability was determined based on interviewer-administered questions adapted from the Washington Group on Disability. Multiple logistic regression using complex sampling design was applied to identify factors that were significantly associated with vision disability. RESULTS: About 4.5% of elderly individuals aged 60 and older self-reported vision disability, even when wearing glasses or contact lenses. Among those who have the vision disability, 41% were found to have hypertension. Vision disability was found significantly higher among elderly with no formal education (aOR:7.93, 95%CI: 1.63,38.66) compared to tertiary education, primary education (aOR:5.16, 95%CI: 1.13, 23.64) compared to tertiary education and being unemployed (aOR:2.98, 95%CI: 1.64, 5.40]). There was however, no significant difference in prevalence of associated factors based on locality, ethnicity, smoking and diabetes among the respondents. DISCUSSION: The majority of vision disability factors are avoidable. The importance of seeking timely treatment for visual impairment should be emphasized especially among elderly individuals in which these identified associated factors are prevalent.
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@proceedings{APCPH-2019-242,
title = {Prevalence and Factors Associated with Self-Reported Vision Disability Among Community-Dwelling Adults Aged 60 And Above in Malaysia: Findings from The National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2018},
author = {Nor'Ain Ab Wahab and Wan Shakira Rodzlan Hasan and Noor Ani Ahmad and Lee Ann Tan and Norhafizah Sahril and Noraida Mohamad Kasim and Abdul Aziz Harith and Mohamad Aznuddin Abd Razak and Rasidah Jamaluddin and Nik Adilah Shahein and Fazly Azry Abdul Aziz},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-07-22},
urldate = {2019-07-22},
journal = {6th Asia-Pacific Conference on Public Health 2019 Proceedings},
issue = {6},
abstract = {INTRODUCTION: Vision disability places elderly individuals at risk for a variety of negative health-related outcomes. This study examined the prevalence and factors associated with self-reported vision disability among elderly people in Malaysia. METHODS: Data for 3932 respondents in this study were drawn from the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2018, a nationwide cross-sectional study conducted among those individuals aged 60 years old and above in Malaysia. Respondents were recruited using stratified cluster sampling, covering both urban and rural areas from all states. Self-reported vision disability was determined based on interviewer-administered questions adapted from the Washington Group on Disability. Multiple logistic regression using complex sampling design was applied to identify factors that were significantly associated with vision disability. RESULTS: About 4.5% of elderly individuals aged 60 and older self-reported vision disability, even when wearing glasses or contact lenses. Among those who have the vision disability, 41% were found to have hypertension. Vision disability was found significantly higher among elderly with no formal education (aOR:7.93, 95%CI: 1.63,38.66) compared to tertiary education, primary education (aOR:5.16, 95%CI: 1.13, 23.64) compared to tertiary education and being unemployed (aOR:2.98, 95%CI: 1.64, 5.40]). There was however, no significant difference in prevalence of associated factors based on locality, ethnicity, smoking and diabetes among the respondents. DISCUSSION: The majority of vision disability factors are avoidable. The importance of seeking timely treatment for visual impairment should be emphasized especially among elderly individuals in which these identified associated factors are prevalent.},
note = {Type: POSTER PRESENTATION; Organisation:},
keywords = {Disability, Elderly, public health, vision disability},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {proceedings}
}