Abstract
Impaired vision and hearing are common conditions among aging adults and can occur separately or concurrently (i.e., age-related deafblindness). Internationally, the prevalence and incidence of age-related deafblindness in community-relating adults has ranged widely and these extremes often reflect use of different samples and age ranges, different measures of sensory function (objective or self-report), and different definitions of impairment. The purpose of this chapter is to summarize the prevalence and incidence of age-related deafblindness and identify risk factors for the condition. These epidemiological data are important for active case-finding of older persons with age-related deafblindness and to link these individuals to appropriate services and supports. Further, these data are critical to answer the call by the Lancet Global Health Commission on Global Eye Health to enhance the focus on deafblindness to support collaboration in research, clinical care, and social inclusion.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Learning, education, and support of deafblind children and adults |
| Subtitle of host publication | an interdisciplinary lifespan approach |
| Editors | Timothy S. Hartshorne, Marleen J. Janssen, Walter Wittich |
| Place of Publication | United Kingdom |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press |
| Chapter | 4 |
| Pages | 37-46 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9780191981845 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780192887221 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 11 Sept 2025 |
Keywords
- deafblindness
- risk factor
- aging
- prevalence
- collaboration