History of Incarceration and Vision Trajectories in Older Adults

The purpose of the current study is to examine whether a history of incarceration is associated with trajectories of self-reported vision among adults aged 55 years and older. Data were from the 2012–2022 Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative longitudinal cohort of older adults in the United States. The analytic sample included 8,347 respondents aged ≥ 55 years. Group-based trajectory modeling was used to identify longitudinal patterns in vision, and multinomial logistic regression was used to estimate associations between incarceration history and trajectory group membership. Three distinct vision trajectories emerged: Stable Good Vision (65.5%), Increasing Poor Vision (25.6%), and Stable Poor Vision (8.9%). Overall, 6.7% (n = 529) of respondents reported a history of incarceration. In adjusted models, history of incarceration was associated with a higher relative risk of membership in the Increasing Poor Vision group compared with the Stable Good Vision group (RRR = 1.67; 95% CI = 1.20, 2.33). These findings provide new evidence suggesting that formerly incarcerated older adults have worsening vision over time compared to their never-incarcerated counterparts, and highlight the importance of coordinated strategies across correctional, public health, and aging systems to improve access to preventive eye care and reduce long-term visual impairment.