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Residential measures of inequity are associated with a greater number of individuals living with vision difficulty and blindness (VDB), according to a study published online May 9 in JAMA Ophthalmology.

Patrice M. Hicks, Ph.D., M.P.H., from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and colleagues used data from the 2012 to 2016 American Community Survey and 2010 U.S. census tracts as well as Theil H index, Gini index, and persistent poverty measures from PolicyMap to examine associations between VDB and measures of neighborhood-level inequity. The analysis included 73,198 census tracts.

The researchers found that for every 0.1-unit increase in Theil H index and Gini index, there was a significantly increased odds of VDB after controlling for census tract-level median age, the percentage of the population that identified as female sex, the percentage of the population that identified as a member of a racial or ethnic-minority group, state, and population size. There was a significant association seen between persistent poverty and increased odds of VDB after controlling for census tract-level median age, the percentage of the population that identified as female sex, the percentage of the population that identified as a member of a racial or ethnic-minority group, state, and population size compared with nonpersistent poverty (odds ratio, 1.36).

“These associations may inform policies to promote systemic investment and targeted intervention in these high-risk census tracts,” the authors write.

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