This retrospective cohort from the Siriraj Primary Care Unit followed 400 community-dwelling older adults, with a median age of 70 years and 76% women. Visual impairment was defined as visual acuity worse than 6/12 in the better-seeing eye, and frailty was assessed with the Thai FRAIL scale. Ordinal logistic regression found an association with transition to a worse frailty state: adjusted odds ratio 2.98 (95% CI 1.97–4.52; p
Key findings
- The cohort comprised 400 people with a median age of 70 years, 76% of whom were women, providing evidence from community-dwelling older adults screened in primary care.
- Visual impairment was associated with transition to a worse frailty category, with an adjusted OR of 2.98 (95% CI 1.97–4.52; p
- Participants with visual impairment had lower quality of life, and the abstract reports slightly more falls and hospitalizations without numerical estimates on the Early Version page.
- The findings support considering vision assessment alongside frailty screening, but the study did not test whether vision correction prevents or reverses frailty transition.
Why this matters globally
Vision is measurable in primary care and may help identify older adults who warrant closer frailty monitoring. An association of nearly threefold higher odds is relevant to healthy-ageing systems in rapidly ageing societies. Before treating vision care as a frailty-prevention intervention, however, the finding needs multisite replication and trials testing whether correcting visual problems changes frailty, falls, quality of life, or hospitalization outcomes.
Thai researcher contribution
All seven authors hold Thailand-based affiliations. The team connects geriatrics, preventive and social medicine, health policy, research data management, pharmacy, and nursing at Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, with internal medicine at Samutsakon Hospital. Harisd Phannarus is the corresponding author, and the work was funded by the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University (grant IO R016731074).
Limitations to consider
The retrospective observational design estimates association rather than causation. Participants were community-dwelling older adults screened at one Siriraj primary-care unit, so transfer to other services and populations requires testing. Follow-up outcomes were obtained by structured telephone interview in 2024, whereas vision came from baseline assessment during 2020–2023; results therefore belong to that cohort timeline rather than a concurrent vision-outcome measurement. The study did not test a vision-correction intervention.