Most seniors overestimate how well they can see, according to Swedish researchers.
In a study of 70-year-olds, most said they were content with their eyesight. But more than half of the 1,200 participants were able to see considerably better when they procured glasses or switched to more powerful lenses.
Men and women were equally likely to own glasses of the incorrect prescription.
“Visual impairment can creep up on you, making it difficult to notice that your eyes are getting worse,” said lead study author Lena Havstam Johansson, from the University of Gothenburg. “It’s easy to get it checked by an optician, who can offer the right glasses or refer you to an ophthalmologist if necessary,” she concluded.
When participants did rate their vision quality as poor, the problem was often reduced contrast sensitivity. But impaired visual acuity or visual field defects did not have as much of an effect on ratings, the researchers found. In addition, men had slightly better eyesight than women. This finding may be explained in part by the higher prevalence of cataracts in women, wrote Johansson, an ophthalmic nurse.
Full findings were published in Acta Opthalmologica.
