Association between self-reported vision and mental well-being: a cross-sectional secondary analysis of Health Survey for England data
Objectives Eye disease and vision impairment are known to be associated with reduced mental well-being, but less is known about the well-being of people with near-normal levels of vision. Here, we examined the association between self-reported eyesight and mental well-being, controlling for eye dise...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2025-08-01
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| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/8/e101753.full |
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| author | Marc S Tibber Michael D Crossland Tessa M Dekker |
| author_facet | Marc S Tibber Michael D Crossland Tessa M Dekker |
| author_sort | Marc S Tibber |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives Eye disease and vision impairment are known to be associated with reduced mental well-being, but less is known about the well-being of people with near-normal levels of vision. Here, we examined the association between self-reported eyesight and mental well-being, controlling for eye disease, mental ill-health and demographic factors, for adults with a wide range of age and vision.Design Population-based cross-sectional study.Participants 7705 adults (56% women; median age 49 years, range 16–104 years) who participated in the Health Survey for England 2013, self-reported their eyesight status and completed the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale.Primary outcome measure Mental well-being, controlling for self-reported mental ill health, self-reported eye disease, age, sex, socioeconomic group and ethnic origin.Results Poorer self-reported eyesight was strongly associated with lower mental well-being (univariate linear model, F(4,7700)=94.7, p<0.001) and explained 5% of the variance in the outcome variable (R2=0.047). Relative to reporting ‘poor’ vision, each subsequent level of vision predicted better well-being, with the exception of ‘fair’ vision, which was not significantly different from ‘poor’ reported vision. This association remained significant after controlling for self-reported mental ill health, self-reported eye disease, age, sex, socioeconomic group and ethnic origin.Conclusions Self-reported eyesight is strongly associated with mental well-being, irrespective of whether people have vision impairment or a diagnosed eye disease. This relationship exists in people with and without mental ill-health. Mental well-being should be considered in people with reduced eyesight, regardless of whether they have a diagnosed eye disease or mental ill-health. Interventions which improve vision may have a positive impact on mental well-being. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d8aeb6a0a06542ac979a410221e9766e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-d8aeb6a0a06542ac979a410221e9766e2025-08-20T04:02:51ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552025-08-0115810.1136/bmjopen-2025-101753Association between self-reported vision and mental well-being: a cross-sectional secondary analysis of Health Survey for England dataMarc S Tibber0Michael D Crossland1Tessa M Dekker2Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UKUCL Institute of Ophthalmology, London, UKUCL Institute of Ophthalmology, London, UKObjectives Eye disease and vision impairment are known to be associated with reduced mental well-being, but less is known about the well-being of people with near-normal levels of vision. Here, we examined the association between self-reported eyesight and mental well-being, controlling for eye disease, mental ill-health and demographic factors, for adults with a wide range of age and vision.Design Population-based cross-sectional study.Participants 7705 adults (56% women; median age 49 years, range 16–104 years) who participated in the Health Survey for England 2013, self-reported their eyesight status and completed the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale.Primary outcome measure Mental well-being, controlling for self-reported mental ill health, self-reported eye disease, age, sex, socioeconomic group and ethnic origin.Results Poorer self-reported eyesight was strongly associated with lower mental well-being (univariate linear model, F(4,7700)=94.7, p<0.001) and explained 5% of the variance in the outcome variable (R2=0.047). Relative to reporting ‘poor’ vision, each subsequent level of vision predicted better well-being, with the exception of ‘fair’ vision, which was not significantly different from ‘poor’ reported vision. This association remained significant after controlling for self-reported mental ill health, self-reported eye disease, age, sex, socioeconomic group and ethnic origin.Conclusions Self-reported eyesight is strongly associated with mental well-being, irrespective of whether people have vision impairment or a diagnosed eye disease. This relationship exists in people with and without mental ill-health. Mental well-being should be considered in people with reduced eyesight, regardless of whether they have a diagnosed eye disease or mental ill-health. Interventions which improve vision may have a positive impact on mental well-being.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/8/e101753.full |
| spellingShingle | Marc S Tibber Michael D Crossland Tessa M Dekker Association between self-reported vision and mental well-being: a cross-sectional secondary analysis of Health Survey for England data BMJ Open |
| title | Association between self-reported vision and mental well-being: a cross-sectional secondary analysis of Health Survey for England data |
| title_full | Association between self-reported vision and mental well-being: a cross-sectional secondary analysis of Health Survey for England data |
| title_fullStr | Association between self-reported vision and mental well-being: a cross-sectional secondary analysis of Health Survey for England data |
| title_full_unstemmed | Association between self-reported vision and mental well-being: a cross-sectional secondary analysis of Health Survey for England data |
| title_short | Association between self-reported vision and mental well-being: a cross-sectional secondary analysis of Health Survey for England data |
| title_sort | association between self reported vision and mental well being a cross sectional secondary analysis of health survey for england data |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/8/e101753.full |
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