Association between visual impairment and suicide: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Abstract

Visual impairment severely impacts the life of the patients. In this study, we systematically reviewed studies on the potential relationship between visual impairment and suicidal behaviour, and conducted meta‐analyses on the risk estimates. We searched 11 literature databases on 20 October 2022 and identified a total of 10 eligible studies with 5.8 million participants. Suicide behaviour was investigated according to three domains: suicide ideation, suicide attempt and suicide death. In the 10 eligible studies, seven reported data on suicide ideation, five reported data on suicide attempt, and three reported data on suicide death. All summary estimates extracted for use in the meta‐analyses were adjusted estimates of association since we acknowledged that depression as well as other confounding factors may play an important role. We found that visual impairment was a significant risk factor of suicide ideation (OR 1.83; 95% CI: 1.40–2.40; p = 0.000012), suicide attempt (OR 2.62; 95% CI: 1.29–5.31; p = 0.0077) and suicide death (OR 7.00; 95% CI: 2.30–21.4; p = 0.000063). These high increases in risk of suicide from visual impairment underscore the importance of eye health on the overall mental health, and the potential devastating consequences of insufficient access to eye care, lack of treatment possibilities for any reason or low political priority of eye care.

Visual Impairment and Suicide Risk

“…Rajeshkannan et al 64 with visual impairment. However, the restricted number of studies integrated into their analysis impeded Palbo et al 65 from achieving precise measurements of risk magnitude and constrained their potential to conduct additional analyses. Our report encompasses 31 studies identified through meticulous literature searches, thus allowing for comprehensive summary estimates regarding the association between visual impairment and risk of suicide and facilitating the execution of metaregression analyses.…”

“…Rajeshkannan et al identified a correlation between suicidal ideation (OR, 1.53 [95% CI, 1.30-1.79]) or suicide attempt (OR, 4.55 [95% CI, 2.39-8.67]) and visual impairment based on 6 relevant studies. Palbo et al, having integrated 8 studies into a quantitative analysis, also posited elevated risks of suicide death (OR, 7.00 [95% CI, 2.30-21.40]), suicide attempt (OR, 2.62 [95% CI, 1.29-5.31]), and suicidal ideation (OR, 1.83 [95% CI, 1.40-2.40]) among individuals with visual impairment. However, the restricted number of studies integrated into their analysis impeded Palbo et al from achieving precise measurements of risk magnitude and constrained their potential to conduct additional analyses.…”

“…Palbo et al, having integrated 8 studies into a quantitative analysis, also posited elevated risks of suicide death (OR, 7.00 [95% CI, 2.30-21.40]), suicide attempt (OR, 2.62 [95% CI, 1.29-5.31]), and suicidal ideation (OR, 1.83 [95% CI, 1.40-2.40]) among individuals with visual impairment. However, the restricted number of studies integrated into their analysis impeded Palbo et al from achieving precise measurements of risk magnitude and constrained their potential to conduct additional analyses. Our report encompasses 31 studies identified through meticulous literature searches, thus allowing for comprehensive summary estimates regarding the association between visual impairment and risk of suicide and facilitating the execution of meta-regression analyses.…”

Geographic atrophy – Signs, symptoms, and quality of life

“…However, the impact of visual impairment goes beyond day‐to‐day activities. Older adults with loss of visual function have worse physical and cognitive functioning, and is linked with an increased risk of comorbidity (Crews et al., 2006), disability (Lam et al., 2013), and mortality (Christ et al., 2014; Palbo et al., 2023).…”