TOPLINE

Adults with nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy or self-reported blindness were more likely to report loneliness than their peers without the conditions, whereas those with age-related macular degeneration or glaucoma were not.

METHODOLOGY

• Researchers conducted a cross-sectional study to examine whether adults with major eye diseases or blindness were more likely to experience loneliness.
• They included 61,349 adults from a US cohort (mean age, 60 years; 63.3% women) who completed an assessment of loneliness using an eight-item scale. A median score was calculated, and adults were classified into high- or low-loneliness group.
• Major eye diseases included age‑related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and glaucoma, and participants self-reported blindness. Those without prior eye care were excluded.

TAKEAWAY

• Participants with nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy were 15% more likely to experience loneliness than those without diabetic retinopathy after adjusting for blindness and other covariates (P = .009).
• Participants who reported blindness were 61% more likely to experience loneliness than those who did not report blindness (P < .001).
• Age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma were not associated with increased odds of loneliness.

IN PRACTICE

“Our findings correspond well with previous studies that have found increased loneliness and social isolation associated with vision loss,” the researchers reported.

SOURCE

The study was led by Zachary Ray Wakefield of Stanford University in Stanford, California. It was published online on June 25 as a research letter in JAMA Ophthalmology.

LIMITATIONS

The study might have unobserved confounding or selection bias. Most participants (75%) were White, limiting generalizability to other races. Researchers relied on self-reported blindness instead of structured measurements.

DISCLOSURES

The study received funding from the Medical Scholars Research Program at Stanford University, the National Eye Institute, and Research to Prevent Blindness. The authors did not report any conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.