The Association of Vision Concerns With the Physical and Mental Well-being of Adolescents in the United States

Abstract

To describe the prevalence of vision concerns among US adolescents and the association of time spent worrying about eyesight with physical and mental health. Cross-sectional study. This study included adolescent children (age 12 to ≤18 years) particpating in the 2005-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey with completed visual function questionnaires and eye examinations. Vision concerns were identified by a survey question of time spent worrying about eyesight and response was treated as a dichotomous variable. Recent poor physical and mental health was defined as at least 1 day of poor health within the last month. Odds ratios (ORs) derived from survey-weighted multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with vision concerns in the adolescent population, adjusting for participant demographics and refractive correction. The survey participants included 3100 adolescents (mean [SD] age, 15.5 [2.0] years; 49% [n=1545] female). Vision concerns were expressed by 24% (n=865) of adolescents. Vision concerns were more prevalent among female (29% vs 19%, P < .001), low-income (30% vs 23%, P < .001), and uninsured (31% vs 22%, P=.006) adolescents. Participants worried about their eyesight were more likely to have undercorrected refractive error (OR 2.07, 95% CI 1.43-2.98). Poor recent mental health (OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.01-1.67), but not physical health (OR 1.00, 95% CI 0.69-1.45), was associated with adolescent vision concerns. Female, low-income, and uninsured adolescents living in the United States are more likely to report worrying about their vision and often have uncorrected or undercorrected refractive errors.