Behind the headlines - Summer 2022

19 August 2022
Summer 2022

Eye health issues that are making the news.

Visually impaired up to four times more prone to mental health problems

Visually impaired people are more likely to suffer anxiety or depression than those without eyesight problems, and symptoms are most common among those with the greatest impairment.

Those are the findings from the charity Sightsavers, which investigated links between vision and mental health in almost 4,000 individuals aged 50 or over from Kogi state, Nigeria.

Symptoms of anxiety and depression were twice as common among those with moderate visual impairment or worse, compared with those without eyesight loss. They were 2.7 times as likely among those with severe visual impairment (SVI) and four times as likely among the blind.

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Related further reading

The College of Optometrists has announced its programme of financial support for undergraduate students, postgraduate students and members engaging in research projects in the 2025-2026 academic year is open for applications.

The College of Optometrists has announced a new undergraduate research grant, the Angela Bishop Undergraduate Research Scholarships for Paediatric Optometry and Binocular Vision.

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