Vision Loss Increases Odds For Hallucinations in Older Adults

Visual impairment has been found to be a risk factor for hallucinations in older adults, according to the results of a recent study.

The researchers conducted a cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis utilizing data from 2 large and nationally representative US health surveys, the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) and the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Any hallucinations or visual impairments, such as recognizing someone across the street or trouble reading the newspaper, were self- or proxy-reported by the participants.

In the NHATS survey (n = 1520), hallucinations were more frequent in those who reported difficulty in far-sighted vision (Odds Ratio [OR] 1.77, 95% confidence interval (CI):1.32-2.39) and near-sighted vision (OR 2.48, 95% CI:1.86-3.31). Similar results were found in the HRS survey (n = 3,682) for both distance (OR 1.62, 95% CI:1.32-1.96) and nearsightedness (OR 1.52, 95% CI:1.25-1.85). After adjusting for confounding factors, the researchers observed there was not a significant relationship between a patient’s history of cataract surgery and the risk of hallucinations.

“Visual dysfunction is associated with increased odds of hallucinations in the older US adult population. This suggests that the prevention and treatment of vision loss may potentially reduce the prevalence of hallucinations in older adults,” the researchers concluded.

—Leigh Precopio

Reference:

Hamedani AG, Thibault DP, Shea JA, Willis AW. Self-reported vision and hallucinations in older adults: results from two longitudinal US health surveys. April 7, 2020. Age Ageing. 2020;49(5):843–849. Doi: 10.1093/ageing/afaa043