Social participation benefits health. We assessed the relationship between self-reported visual impairment (VI) and glaucoma versus seniors’ social participation. Data from individuals aged ≥65 years responding to the Canadian Community Health Survey Healthy Aging 2008/2009 (n = 16,369) was analyzed. Participation in eight social activities by seniors with and without self-reported VI or glaucoma was compared. Seniors with VI had significantly reduced participation (p<0.05) in sports/physical activities (18.0% vs. 33.6%), family/friendship activities outside the household (39.7% vs. 53.0%), service club/fraternal organization activities (11.4% vs. 18.4%), volunteer/charity work (13.4% vs. 24.9%), educational/cultural activities (16.2% vs. 24.5%), and other social recreational activities (21.6% vs. 31.0%) compared to those without VI. Differences in participation in church/religious activities (40.6% vs. 44.5%) and community/professional association activities (15.3% vs. 18.0%) were non-significant between seniors with and without VI. Seniors with glaucoma versus those without had significantly reduced participation (p<0.05) in family/friendship activities (46.6% vs. 52.9%), sports/physical activities (26.0% vs. 33.6%) and volunteer/charity work (20.4% vs. 24.9%). No participation in any social activity was significantly higher among seniors with VI versus those without (10.1% vs. 2.9%, p0.05). After adjusting for the effects of age, sex, education, household income, ethnicity, job status and chronic diseases (adjusted odds ratio, aOR = 3.4 (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.0–5.8), seniors with VI but no glaucoma were more likely not to engage in any social activities compared to seniors without VI and no glaucoma. Seniors with glaucoma but without VI had a similar level of non-participation (aOR = 0.9, 95%% CI 0.5–1.7). Significantly reduced social participation was found across six community activities among seniors with self-reported VI and in three activities among those with self-reported glaucoma. Policies and programs that help seniors with VI or glaucoma engage in social activities are needed.

Background: Although stroke and APOE 4 are independent risk factors for dementia, their combined effect remains uncertain. We assessed their joint effect on dementia risk. Methods: Subjects participated in Phases 1 and 2 of the Canadian Study of Health and Aging (CSHA). Dementia was diagnosed by consensus, and stroke was diagnosed by history or clinical examination. Analyses were first conducted among clinical participants only, and then rerun with the screening sample included as well. Results: Analyses included 949 participants from CSHA-1 and 1,413 from CSHA-2. During a median 4.6-year follow-up, 740 were included in the CSHA-1 to -2 incidence study. Among clinical participants, the highest prevalence (40.6% for CSHA-1 and 57.6% for CSHA-2) and incidence (8.4 per 100 person-years) of dementia occurred in elderly having both stroke and APOE 4; the lowest prevalence (19.8% for CSHA-1 and 23.3% for CSHA-2) and incidence (4.3 per 100 person-years) were among persons having neither. These findings held true when the screening sample was included. The adjusted hazard ratios of incident dementia, relative to elderly with neither stroke nor APOE 4, were 1.33 (95% CI 0.73 to 2.43) for stroke alone, 2.06 (95% CI 1.42 to 2.99) for APOE 4 alone, and 2.57 (95% CI 1.11 to 5.94) for both. No interaction on additive or multiplicative scales was suggested. Conclusions: The joint presence of stroke and APOE 4 was associated with a greater risk of dementia compared with absence of these two factors. The effect of stroke on dementia does not seem to be modified by APOE 4.