Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 19, 2026
Measuring the Behavioral Effects of Intraocular Scatter
Published on: February 18, 2021
Disparities between ambient, standard lighting and retinal acuities in community-dwelling older people: Implications
Steven M Albert1, Jane Bear-Lehman, Ann Burkhardt
1Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, USA. smalbert@pitt.edu
Objectives:
To examine three types of visual ability-ambient acuity, standard lighting acuity, and retinal acuity-and their relationship with self-reported disability.
Design:
Cross-sectional prevalence survey.
Setting:
New York, New York.
Participants:
Community-dwelling older people.
Measurements:
Ambient acuity assessed using a near reading card; standard lighting acuity and retinal acuity assessed using the Retinal Acuity Meter. Difficulty in activities of daily living was assessed according to self-report.
Results:
Mean logMAR acuities were 0.44 (20/56) for ambient acuity, 0.33 (20/44) for standard lighting acuity, and 0.19 (20/31) for retinal acuity (all pairwise differences, P < .001). Given the distribution of disability by ambient acuity in this sample, improving ambient acuity to the level of retinal acuity could potentially reduce self-care disability 22%.
Conclusion:
Better utilization of retinal acuity through optimal ophthalmologic care and improvement in lighting would likely reduce disability in older adults.
