Modification of the Association between Visual Impairment and Mortality by Physical Activity: A Cohort Study among the Korean National Health Examinees

Kyoung-Nam Kim, Sang Jun Park, Woosung Kim, Jungmin Joo, Haebin Kim, Kyae Hyung Kim, Ji Hoon Sohn and Yong Jin Kwon
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Kyoung-Nam Kim: Division of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul 03080, Korea
Sang Jun Park: Department of Preventive Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 03080, Korea
Woosung Kim: Department of Preventive Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 03080, Korea
Jungmin Joo: Division of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul 03080, Korea
Haebin Kim: Department of Psychiatry, Kyung Hee University Hospital, Seoul 02447, Korea
Kyae Hyung Kim: Division of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul 03080, Korea
Ji Hoon Sohn: Division of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul 03080, Korea
Yong Jin Kwon: Division of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul 03080, Korea

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 22, 1-12

Abstract: The association between visual impairment and higher mortality remains unclear. In addition, evidence is lacking on the interaction between visual function and physical activity on mortality. We used data of individuals with no disability or with visual impairment among those who participated in the National Health Screening Program in Korea in 2009 or 2010. We constructed Cox proportional hazard models adjusted for potential confounders to evaluate the independent association between visual impairment and mortality. More severe visual impairment was associated with higher all-cause mortality ( p -value for trend = 0.03) and mortality due to cardiovascular diseases ( p -value for trend = 0.02) and that due to other diseases ( p -value for trend = 0.01). We found an interaction on an additive scale between visual impairment and no physical activity on all-cause mortality (relative excess risk due to interaction = 1.34, 95% confidence interval: 0.37, 2.30, p -value = 0.01). When we stratified the study population by physical activity, the association between visual impairment and mortality was only found among individuals who did not engage in regular physical activity ( p -value for trend = 0.01). We found an independent association between visual impairment and mortality and modification of this association by physical activity.

Keywords: visual impairment; blindness; mortality; physical activity; interaction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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