Poor Sleep Quality Prevalent in Adults With Visual Impairment, New Study Reports

Adults with moderate VI, blindness and diabetic retinopathy face significantly higher odds of sleep disruption, underscoring the need for routine sleep assessment in eyecare practice. Photo: Getty Images. Click image to enlarge. A new cross-sectional study highlights a clinically meaningful connection between visual impairment (VI) and disrupted sleep. The findings, recently published in the journal Eye, underscore the importance of comprehensive management strategies addressing sleep in this patient population. Researchers evaluated 277 adults with visual impairment alongside 278 age- and sex-matched controls, administering full ocular examinations and the Arabic version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). In this analysis, the relationship between VI, its severity, ocular conditions and poor sleep quality were evaluated while adjusting for potential confounders. Participants with visual impairment showed significantly worse sleep quality, with mean PSQI scores of 6.83 ±3.6 compared with 5.30 ±3.5 among controls. More than half of the VI group (57.8%) met criteria for poor sleep (PSQI >5) vs. just 36.7% of controls.The association held firm even after adjustment for sociodemographic and clinical factors. According to multivariate logistic regression analysis, adults with visual impairment had significantly higher odds of reporting poor sleep quality compared to their counterparts in the control group. Importantly, poor sleep quality was linked to moderate visual impairment and blindness. The study also examined whether specific ocular conditions influenced sleep, with diabetic retinopathy and combined ocular conditions emerging as significant drivers. The findings carry clear clinical relevance, according to the researchers, who emphasize that clinicians should recognize the high burden of sleep problems among people with vision impairment, incorporate routine screening into care and consider targeted strategies. This includes sleep-hygiene programs and tools that strengthen environmental light cues for circadian regulation. “Additionally, improving vision in individuals with VI can improve sleep quality by facilitating better light perception and circadian rhythm regulation,” the study authors wrote in their Eye paper.“This study highlights the complex nature and the significant association between VI and poor sleep quality, with the severity of impairment, underlying ocular conditions and various sociodemographic factors playing crucial roles,” they concluded. “By integrating care approaches from ophthalmology, sleep medicine and public health, more effective strategies can be developed to improve the overall well-being of this vulnerable population.”Click here for the journal source. Jammal HM, Khader Y, Almhdawi K, et al. Association between visual impairment and sleep quality: A cross-sectional, comparative study of severity, eye conditions, and risk factors. Eye (Lond). November 30, 2025 [Epub ahead of print]. This article was developed by the editorial staff in conjunction with experts in the field. In the process, AI may have been among the editorial tools used to meet the goals of human editors, who approved all content.