“…Although the cross-sectional design precludes elucidation of temporal relationships (eg, between visual function and education, employment, and occupational categories), which is necessary to confirm causality, the findings nevertheless serve to identify the existence of patterns of inequality and delineate new hypotheses for testing in longitudinal research to identify pathways of action. 25 The epidemiologic literature 22,[26][27][28] on visual function in adults has understandably principally addressed the worst end of the spectrum (ie, low vision and blindness), which is known to be associated with belonging to an ethnic minority and having lower socioeconomic status. Longitudinal research on the 1958 British birth cohort by our group 17,24 provided the conceptual basis for the present study that has exploited the greater scale and diversity of UK Biobank, albeit using crosssectional data, to identify and understand current patterns of social inequalities in visual health across the spectrum from normal vision to VI, SVI, and blindness.…”