Ten-year all-cause mortality and its association with vision among Indigenous Australians within Central Australia: the Central Australian Ocular Health Study.

No studies to date have explored the association of vision with mortality in Indigenous Australians. We aimed to determine the 10-year all-cause mortality and its associations among Indigenous Australians living in Central Australia. Prospective observational cohort study. A total of 1257 (93.0%) of 1347 patients from The Central Australian Ocular Health Study, over the age of 40?years, were available for follow-up during a 10-year period. All-cause mortality and its associations with visual acuity, age and gender were analysed. All-cause mortality. All-cause mortality was 29.3% at the end of 10?years. Mortality increased as age of recruitment increased: 14.2% (40-49?years), 22.6% (50-59 years), 50.3% (60?years or older) (??=?59.15; P?<?0.00001). Gender was not associated with mortality as an unadjusted variable, but after adjustment with age and visual acuity, women were 17.0% less likely to die (t?=?2.09; P?=?0.037). Reduced visual acuity was associated with increased mortality rate (5% increased mortality per one line of reduced visual acuity; t?=?4.74; P?<?0.0001) after adjustment for age, sex, diabetes and hypertension. The 10-year all-cause mortality rate of Indigenous Australians over the age of 40?years and living in remote communities of Central Australia was 29.3%. This is more than double that of the Australian population as a whole. Mortality was significantly associated with visual acuity at recruitment. Further work designed to better understand this association is warranted and may help to reduce this disparity in the future