{"title":"Perceived Discrimination, Hypervigilance, and Visual Disabilities Among United States Adults: An Analysis of National Survey Data","authors":"Patrick Akarapimand , John C. Lin , Fasika Woreta","doi":"10.1016/j.ajo.2025.06.023","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>To investigate the association between visual disability and discrimination.</div></div><div><h3>Design</h3><div>Cross-sectional study.</div></div><div><h3>Participants</h3><div>We employed data from the 2023 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), including only US adult participants who responded to both the NHIS modules on visual disability and discrimination.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Visual disability was defined as any reported difficulty with seeing even when wearing glasses or contact lenses. Adjusted Wald tests were performed to compare discrimination and hypervigilance between people with and without visual disabilities. Multiple ordinal regression models were employed to assess the associations between visual disability and Everyday Discrimination Scale (EDS) or Heightened Vigilance Scale (HVS), adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, household income, education level, and the number of chronic conditions such as arthritis, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, diabetes, and hypertension. Subgroup analyses across covariates were performed.</div></div><div><h3>Main Outcomes Measures</h3><div>Discrimination was measured through 2 validated tools: the EDS, assessing the frequency of unfair treatment, and the HVS, measuring how often individuals anticipate or prepare for discrimination.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Total 28 615 adults were included in this study. 54.3% were female, 33.6% identified as from racial or ethnic minoritized backgrounds, and 19.6% reported having visual disabilities. The mean EDS score for people with visual disabilities was significantly higher than for those without disabilities (3.28 vs 2.30, <em>P</em> < .001), as well as the mean HVS score (4.12 vs 3.19, <em>P</em> < .001). In multiple ordinal regression, visual disability was significantly associated with higher scores on the EDS (adjusted OR: 1.74, 95% CI: 1.62-1.87) and higher scores on the HVS (adjusted OR: 1.61, 95% CI: 1.51-1.72). This result was replicated across age and sex subgroup analyses.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>People with visual disabilities reported more frequent discrimination and heightened vigilance. This underscores the urgent need for coordinated efforts across multiple sectors, such as healthcare, education, employment, and transportation, to address the discrimination faced by people with visual disabilities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7568,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Ophthalmology","volume":"278 ","pages":"Pages 140-148"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2000,"publicationDate":"2025-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"American Journal of Ophthalmology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002939425003095","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"OPHTHALMOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objective
To investigate the association between visual disability and discrimination.
Design
Cross-sectional study.
Participants
We employed data from the 2023 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), including only US adult participants who responded to both the NHIS modules on visual disability and discrimination.
Methods
Visual disability was defined as any reported difficulty with seeing even when wearing glasses or contact lenses. Adjusted Wald tests were performed to compare discrimination and hypervigilance between people with and without visual disabilities. Multiple ordinal regression models were employed to assess the associations between visual disability and Everyday Discrimination Scale (EDS) or Heightened Vigilance Scale (HVS), adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, household income, education level, and the number of chronic conditions such as arthritis, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, diabetes, and hypertension. Subgroup analyses across covariates were performed.
Main Outcomes Measures
Discrimination was measured through 2 validated tools: the EDS, assessing the frequency of unfair treatment, and the HVS, measuring how often individuals anticipate or prepare for discrimination.
Results
Total 28 615 adults were included in this study. 54.3% were female, 33.6% identified as from racial or ethnic minoritized backgrounds, and 19.6% reported having visual disabilities. The mean EDS score for people with visual disabilities was significantly higher than for those without disabilities (3.28 vs 2.30, P < .001), as well as the mean HVS score (4.12 vs 3.19, P < .001). In multiple ordinal regression, visual disability was significantly associated with higher scores on the EDS (adjusted OR: 1.74, 95% CI: 1.62-1.87) and higher scores on the HVS (adjusted OR: 1.61, 95% CI: 1.51-1.72). This result was replicated across age and sex subgroup analyses.
Conclusions
People with visual disabilities reported more frequent discrimination and heightened vigilance. This underscores the urgent need for coordinated efforts across multiple sectors, such as healthcare, education, employment, and transportation, to address the discrimination faced by people with visual disabilities.
期刊介绍:
The American Journal of Ophthalmology is a peer-reviewed, scientific publication that welcomes the submission of original, previously unpublished manuscripts directed to ophthalmologists and visual science specialists describing clinical investigations, clinical observations, and clinically relevant laboratory investigations. Published monthly since 1884, the full text of the American Journal of Ophthalmology and supplementary material are also presented online at www.AJO.com and on ScienceDirect.
The American Journal of Ophthalmology publishes Full-Length Articles, Perspectives, Editorials, Correspondences, Books Reports and Announcements. Brief Reports and Case Reports are no longer published. We recommend submitting Brief Reports and Case Reports to our companion publication, the American Journal of Ophthalmology Case Reports.
Manuscripts are accepted with the understanding that they have not been and will not be published elsewhere substantially in any format, and that there are no ethical problems with the content or data collection. Authors may be requested to produce the data upon which the manuscript is based and to answer expeditiously any questions about the manuscript or its authors.