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Ten‐year all‐cause mortality and its association with vision among Indigenous Australians within Central Australia : the Central Australian Ocular Health Study
Author(s) -
Liu Ebony,
Ng Soo K,
Kahawita Shyalle,
Andrew Nicholas H,
Henderson Tim,
Craig Jamie E,
Landers John
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
clinical and experimental ophthalmology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.3
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1442-9071
pISSN - 1442-6404
DOI - 10.1111/ceo.12880
Subject(s) - medicine , visual acuity , mortality rate , demography , indigenous , population , visual impairment , observational study , cohort study , prospective cohort study , gerontology , ophthalmology , surgery , environmental health , ecology , psychiatry , sociology , biology
Background No studies to date have explored the association of vision with mortality in Indigenous Australians. We aimed to determine the 10‐year all‐cause mortality and its associations among Indigenous Australians living in Central Australia. Design Prospective observational cohort study. Participants A total of 1257 (93.0%) of 1347 patients from The Central Australian Ocular Health Study, over the age of 40 years, were available for follow‐up during a 10‐year period. Methods All‐cause mortality and its associations with visual acuity, age and gender were analysed. Main Outcome Measures All‐cause mortality. Results All‐cause mortality was 29.3% at the end of 10 years. Mortality increased as age of recruitment increased: 14.2% (40–49 years), 22.6% (50–59 years), 50.3% (60 years or older) ( χ = 59.15; P < 0.00001). Gender was not associated with mortality as an unadjusted variable, but after adjustment with age and visual acuity, women were 17.0% less likely to die ( t = 2.09; P = 0.037). Reduced visual acuity was associated with increased mortality rate (5% increased mortality per one line of reduced visual acuity; t = 4.74; P < 0.0001) after adjustment for age, sex, diabetes and hypertension. Conclusions The 10‐year all‐cause mortality rate of Indigenous Australians over the age of 40 years and living in remote communities of Central Australia was 29.3%. This is more than double that of the Australian population as a whole. Mortality was significantly associated with visual acuity at recruitment. Further work designed to better understand this association is warranted and may help to reduce this disparity in the future.