Self-Reported Visual Difficulty and Mortality Risk Among Older Adults: The Mediating Role of Recurrent Falls.

Background and Objectives: Visual difficulty is associated with an increased risk of mortality, however the mechanisms accounting for the link between visual difficulty and mortality have not been described. This study examined the association between visual difficulty, recurrent falls, and mortality risk among Americans aged 65 and older. Research Design and Methods: This longitudinal study employed data from the Results: Among the respondents, 8.1% reported visual difficulty at baseline. Compared to those without visual difficulty, older adults with visual difficulty were more likely to experience recurrent falls. Having visual difficulty at baseline was associated with experiencing recurrent falls in the following wave (β (log-hazard odds) = 0.12, Discussion and Implications: Compared to those with normal vision, older adults with visual difficulty are more likely to experience recurrent falls, which may in turn increase the risk of mortality. Future research should investigate other potential pathways to gain a more complete understanding of the relationship between visual difficulty and mortality risk.