VISUAL IMPAIRMENT RELATED TO COGNITION AND LONELINESS IN OLD-AGE

Reported problems in visual acuity were examined as determinants of lo neliness experienced by community dwelling people with either impaired or unimpaired cognition. The Mini-Menta State Examination (MMSE) was used as a screening instrument to form a cognitively-impaired (MMSE 20 -23/30) and a cognitively-intact group (MMSE 28-30/30). A total of 147 subjects took part in the study and were examined by an optometrist. Subjects with intact cognition tended to report visual problems more o ften than subjects with cognitive deficits. One out of two subjects ha d slight visual impairment, in both cognitive groups. After acuity had been optimally corrected, six to seven out of ten subjects' visual ac uity did improve. In a multiple regression analysis, higher MMSE score and visual improvement were significantly related to lower levels of self-reported loneliness among the elderly with their cognition intact , but not among the subjects with impaired cognition.