ABSTRACT
D. W. Kline et al. demonstrated that the self-reported visual problems of older persons are associated with changes in their light sensitivity, dynamic vision, near vision, speed of visual processing, and visual search. This chapter discusses these changes in visual function with increased age, including a definition of each visual function, common measurement techniques, how that visual function changes with increasing age, potential underlying mechanisms, and the implications of these changes for performance of everyday activities. In older populations, there is also greater interindividual variability in visual function, which may reflect the presence of subclinical ocular pathology, as well as the natural variability inherent in the normal aging process. Spatial contrast sensitivity measured under photopic conditions declines with increasing age and is more sensitive to the effects of normal aging or ocular disease than high-contrast visual acuity. These aging changes in visual function are reflected by older adult’s perceptions of their own visual abilities.
