Prevention & lipidsCohort study
Visual Acuity and Cardiovascular Mortality in 2.52 Million Older Adults in China
- Prospective cohort study
- multicenter
Authors' conclusion
Beyond its traditional ocular role, VA impairment emerges as a sentinel marker of cardiovascular vulnerability and a functional barometer of biological aging.
Study context
- Population
- Adults ≥65 years from 4 Chinese cities (Basic Public Health Services in China), 2017–202342.5% with visual acuity (VA) impairment
- Participants
- 2,517,662 adults
- Exposure
- Worse vs better presenting visual acuity of the better-seeing eye
- Outcome
- CVD mortality
- Follow-up
- Mean 4.99 years
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Hazard ratio (95% CI)
per 1-logMAR increase in BVAfully adjusted
1.03(1.02–1.03)
Q4 vs Q1
1.30(1.28–1.32)
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | HR (95% CI) | |
|---|---|---|
| All-cause mortality — per 1-logMAR increase in BVA · fully adjusted | 1.03 (1.03–1.04) | |
| All-cause mortality — Q4 vs Q1 | 1.25 (1.24–1.26) | |
| 0.512Hazard ratio (log scale) |
- All-cause mortality: 348,501 deaths
Stratified by age
- Association stronger in younger participants (65-70 years)
Dose-response
- Significant nonlinear association: risk rising steeply at lower impairment, plateauing at higher levels
Original publication
Visual Acuity and Cardiovascular Mortality in 2.52 Million Older Adults in China. J Am Coll Cardiol. Published 15 April 2026. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2026.02.5111
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it