Climate change may increase risk of visual impairment: study

As climate change warms the planet, yet another impact is likely to come upon us. Rising temperatures are linked to an increased chance of vision impairment, according to a new study.

Canadian researchers found that American adults aged 65 and older were much more likely to suffer from severe vision loss if they lived in warmer climates than their peers living in cooler climates. discovered.

According to the authors, this is the first large-scale study to look at the link between rising temperatures and vision problems.

Researchers looked at average temperatures in U.S. counties and found that people living in counties with average temperatures above 15.5 degrees Celsius were more likely to suffer from severe visual impairment than those living in the coolest counties. was found to be 44% higher.

“The association between visual impairment and county average temperatures will be of great concern if future research determines that this association is causal,” University of Toronto Life Courses and Aging said. Esme Fuller-Thomson, Institute Director and lead author of the study, said: said in a press release. “Climate change is expected to cause global temperatures to rise. It will be important to monitor whether the prevalence of visual impairment among older adults increases in the future.”

The study last month Peer-reviewed journal Ophthalmic Epidemiologyextracted from a data pool of over 1.7 million Americans.

The association between body temperature and visual impairment persisted even when researchers considered age, gender, income, and education of the participants.

“It was powerful to see that the association between visual impairment and body temperature was consistent across so many demographic factors, including income,” said one of the study’s co-authors at the University of Toronto. Graduate student Elysia Fuller-Thomson said in her paper. release.

To track visual impairment and cross-reference it with body temperature, researchers turned to the American Community Survey, which examined data collected through mail, telephone, and in-person interviews between 2012 and 2017. The survey focused on adults aged 65 and over living in the same state in which they were born, included questions about severe visual impairment, and asked participants whether they were blind or I was able to answer whether it was difficult to see even with glasses.

The researchers then obtained temperature data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to create averages for the included counties and compared this data to visual data.

Counties with average temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius were the coolest counties in the dataset. The researchers found that people living in countries with average temperatures between 10°C and 12.7°C had a 14 percent higher risk of severe visual impairment compared with those living in the coolest regions, and between 12.7°C and 12.7°C. found 24 percent higher among those living in 15.4°C.

This association existed across all demographics, but was even stronger in some populations. High body temperature appears to be more correlated with the likelihood of severe vision loss in male individuals aged 65-79 compared with those aged 80 and over, and in white Americans compared with black Americans. is.

Co-author ZhiDi Deng, a recent pharmacy graduate from the University of Toronto, noted that vision loss and disability can have a significant impact on the lives of those who have to contend with it.

“We know vision problems are a leading cause of disability and functional limitations,” Deng said in a release. “For example, severe visual impairment can increase the risk of falls and fractures and negatively impact the quality of life of older adults. We’re losing billions of dollars, so the link between body temperature and visual impairment was very concerning.”

Although this study seems to show a strong link, it is still unclear how temperature actually affects our vision.

Researchers theorize that the cause may be increased exposure to UV light, air pollution, or the breakdown of folic acid that accompanies high temperatures.

However, because this study was designed only to examine whether an association exists, it is unlikely that the mechanism by which acute heat affects the eyeballs, especially given that global average temperatures continue to rise, is likely to emerge. Further research is needed to elucidate the

In their conclusion, the authors noted, “Projected increases in global temperature could affect older Americans who are affected by severe visual impairment and the associated health and economic burdens.” .

Fuller-Thomson said he was “extremely surprised” by the strong associations he found.

“But this new discovery raises more questions than answers, such as the link between average temperatures in the county and visual impairment.”

He added that the next step for this particular team would be to investigate whether heat is linked to “other disabilities in older people, such as hearing impairment and limitations in daily activities.”