Table 6.
Prevalence of functional near vision impairment, NHANES 1999–2008.
| Near vision impairment | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| ||||
| Functional impairment % (95% CI) | Functional and near vision impairment % (95% CI) | No % (95% CI) | Yes % (95% CI) | |
| Total | 12.3 (11.4–13.2) | 3.3 (2.9–3.8) | 9.3 (8.5–10.1) | 25.9 (23.1–28.1) |
|
| ||||
| Race/ethnicity | ||||
| Nonhispanic Black | 15.9 (14.2–17.8) | 5.8 (4.7–7.1) | 11.9 (10.3–13.8) | 28.8 (24.4–33.6) |
| Mexican-American | 19.3 (16.7–22.1) | 6.4 (5.1–8.0) | 14.8 (12.7–17.3) | 27.4 (22.7–32.6) |
| Nonhispanic White | 11.3 (10.4–12.3) | 2.7 (2.3–3.1) | 8.6 (7.7–9.5) | 24.9 (21.5–28.7) |
| P<0.0001 | P<0.0001 | P<0.0001 | P=0.2 | |
|
| ||||
| Age | ||||
| 50–59 | 12.5 (11.1–14.0) | 2.0 (1.6–2.6) | 11.3 (9.9–12.7) | 21.9 (17.5–27.0) |
| 60–69 | 9.0 (7.8–10.3) | 2.5 (2.0–3.0) | 7.0 (6.0–8.2) | 24.6 (20.0–30.0) |
| 70–79 | 11.6 (10.2–13.1) | 4.0 (3.3–4.7) | 7.1 (6.0–8.5) | 24.6 (20.5–29.2) |
| 80+ | 21.4 (19.2–23.8) | 9.9 (8.2–11.9) | 11.1 (8.4–14.4) | 35.6 (30.4–41.1) |
| P<0.0001 | P<0.0001 | P<0.0001 | P=0.0005 | |
|
| ||||
| Sex | ||||
| Male | 11.3 (10.3–12.4) | 3.0 (2.6–3.6) | 8.8 (7.8–9.8) | 21.9 (18.6–25.7) |
| Female | 13.1 (11.8–14.4) | 3.6 (3.1–4.1) | 9.7 (8.5–11.0) | 29.9 (26.4–33.7) |
| P=0.02 | P=0.049 | P=0.3 | P=0.0007 | |
|
| ||||
| Education | ||||
| <High School | 19.0 (17.2–20.9) | 7.6 (6.4–9.0) | 13.6 (11.8–15.7) | 31.0 (26.9–35.3) |
| High School | 12.4 (10.8–14.3) | 2.8 (2.2–3.5) | 9.5 (8.0–11.2) | 24.0 (19.5–29.3) |
| >High School | 9.1 (8.0–10.3) | 1.6 (1.3–2.0) | 7.6 (6.6–8.8) | 20.4 (16.3–25.1) |
| P<0.0001 | P<0.0001 | P<0.0001 | P=0.002 | |
|
| ||||
| Private health insurancea | ||||
| Any | 9.6 (8.7–10.7) | 2.1 (1.8–2.5) | 7.6 (6.7–8.6) | 21.8 (18.6–25.5) |
| None | 17.5 (16.0–19.1) | 5.8 (4.9–6.8) | 13.2 (11.6–14.9) | 29.9 (26.1–34.0) |
| P<0.0001 | P<0.0001 | P<0.0001 | P=0.003 | |
|
| ||||
| Access to health careb | ||||
| Yes | 12.1 (11.3–13.0) | 3.3 (2.9–3.7) | 9.0 (8.3–9.8) | 26.4 (23.1–28.8) |
| No | 14.0 (10.4–18.6) | 3.6 (2.5–5.3) | 12.8 (8.8–18.2) | 21.2 (14.5–29.9) |
| P=0.3 | P=0.6 | P=0.06 | P=0.2 | |
|
| ||||
| Incomec | ||||
| 2x poverty level or above | 8.9 (7.9–9.9) | 1.8 (1.5–2.1) | 7.1 (6.3–8.2) | 19.2 (15.9–23.0) |
| At and up to 2x poverty level | 17.0 (15.6–18.5) | 5.6 (4.7–6.6) | 12.5 (10.7–14.4) | 29.5 (24.8–34.7) |
| Below poverty level | 25.9 (22.4–29.7) | 9.4 (7.6–11.7) | 21.4 (17.7–25.8) | 37.4 (31.4–43.7) |
| P<0.0001 | P<0.0001 | P<0.0001 | P<0.0001 | |
Prevalence percentage with 95% confidence intervals (CI) computed using mobile examination center (MEC) examination weights to provide estimates for the total US population and are age-standardized to the US 2000 Census population.
Presenting near vision impairment defined as vision worse than 20/40 (cannot read 4th or 5th line of near vision chart)
Functional near vision impairment defined as response of “moderate difficulty”, “extreme difficulty” or “unable to do because of eyesight” for either reading news print or doing near work.
“Other” race/ethnicity is not reported because of small numbers and heterogeneous nature
Defined as self-reported private health insurance coverage
Defined as self-reported access to routine place for obtaining health care when sick or when needing advice regarding health
Defined using poverty income ratio, which accounts for family size
P values test global within group differences in prevalence
NHANES = National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey