Presence of Vision Impairment and Risk of Hospitalization among Elderly Medicare Beneficiaries. Ophthalmic Epidemiol 2017 Dec;24(6):364-370
Date
03/28/2017Pubmed ID
28346032Pubmed Central ID
PMC5617761DOI
10.1080/09286586.2017.1296961Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85016111076 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 13 CitationsAbstract
PURPOSE: To examine the association between vision impairment and all-cause hospitalization among elderly Medicare beneficiaries.
METHODS: A population-based study (N = 22,681) of community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years and older who participated in the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey for the years 2001-2007. Beneficiaries were classified into self-reported presence of vision impairment versus no vision impairment. Inpatient hospitalizations were identified using Medicare claims data. A multivariable Cox proportional hazard model examined the association between presence of vision impairment and time to first hospitalization within 3 years of survey entry after adjusting for sociodemographics, comorbidities, hearing impairment, and activity limitation stages derived from difficulty performing the activities of daily living.
RESULTS: Medicare beneficiaries who self-reported the presence of vision impairment were significantly more likely to be hospitalized over 3 years compared to beneficiaries without vision impairment even after adjustment for potentially influential covariates (hazard ratio = 1.14 and 95% confidence interval: 1.05-1.23).
CONCLUSIONS: Medicare beneficiaries with self-reported vision impairment were at higher risk of hospitalization during a 3-year period. Further research may identify reasons that are amenable to policy interventions.
Author List
Bal S, Kurichi JE, Kwong PL, Xie D, Hennessy S, Na L, Pezzin LE, Streim JE, Bogner HRAuthor
Liliana Pezzin PhD, JD Professor in the Institute for Health and Equity department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AgedAged, 80 and over
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Hospitalization
Humans
Male
Medicare
Prevalence
Retrospective Studies
Risk Factors
Self Report
United States
Vision Disorders
