Impact of Vision Loss on Active Life Expectancy in the United States

Aaron Hagedorn , University of Southern California
Chi-Tsun Chiu, Academia Sinica
Yasuhiko Saito, Nihon University

Poor vision loss may limit both quality and quantity of life. We use 16 years of the Health and Retirement Study, separating it into two cohorts, between 1998-2006 and 2006-2014. This allows us to examine the effect of age, cohort, and time varying covariates such as low vision, socioeconomic status, and functional health. We used the Stochastic Population Analysis for Complex Events program to estimate Multistate Life Table functions and their sampling variability. This approach uses microsimulation and the bootstrap method to estimate the sampling variability. Among those who experienced low vision loss over the survey period, total life expectancy at age 65 was nearly 4 years less than for those who reported normal vision loss. The largest differences were seen in disabled years, with 6.5 years expected in disability for women age 65 with poor vision loss, compared to 4.3 years for women with reported normal vision loss.

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 Presented in Session 6. Health & Mortality & Aging