Health of people with sight loss

Around 1.9 million people in England (approximately 3 per cent of the population) are living with sight loss. Sight loss can have an impact on many areas of people’s lives, including overall quality of life, and mental and physical health, as well as health-related behaviours such as physical activity.

Key findings

• Overall, 4 per cent of adults in England reported experiencing sight loss.
• Adults with sight loss were around five times more likely to have bad or very bad general health compared with adults with no sight loss (34 per cent and 7 per cent respectively).
• 62 per cent of adults with sight loss and other impairments, and 28 per cent of adults with sight loss only were taking four or more medications (compared with 8 per cent of adults with no sight loss or other impairments).f
• Adults with sight loss were around three times more likely to report low life satisfaction (24 per cent) than adults with no sight loss (8 per cent).
• A higher proportion of adults with sight loss reported being current cigarette smokers compared with adults with no sight loss (22 per cent and 17 per cent respectively).
• 11 per cent of those with sight loss drank at increased risk levels (between 14 and 35/50 units of alcohol per week, depending on sex), compared with 19 per cent of adults with no sight loss.
• Adults with sight loss were almost twice as likely to be ‘inactive’ compared with those with no sight loss (46 per cent compared with 26 per cent).
• Those with sight loss were over three times more likely to have diabetes than those with no sight loss (24 per cent compared with 7 per cent).