Kansas State Profile

Related Pages
The Impact of Vision Impairment

Download the print version: State Profile [PDF – 481 KB]

Kansas prevalence map
eyeglasses.

More than 60,000 people report blindness or severe difficulty seeing even with glasses. 1 

silhouettes of three people standing

Severe vision impairment is
HIGHER in those reporting:

Poor Health 11% vs Good Health 2%
Less than High School 6% vs High School and Above 2% 2

People with severe vision impairments are more likely to have
Diabetes: 16% with severe vision impairment, 9% without severe vision impairment
Arthritis: 37% with severe vision impairment, 22% without severe vision impairment
Mobility Issues: 36% with severe vision impairment, 10% without severe vision impairment
With severe vision impairment
Without severe vision impairment

46%

of individuals 65 years and older with

severe vision impairment reported

having a fall in the previous year3

For more information, visit www.cdc.gov/visionhealth
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Association of Chronic Disease Directors, The Ohio State University College of Optometry

Data Sources:
1. U.S. Census Bureau, 2012–2016 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, self-report, crude prevalence, all ages.
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, self-report, age adjusted, 18yo+.
3. Crews JE; Chou CF, Stevens JA, Saaddine JB. Falls Among Persons Aged 65 Years With and Without Severe Vision Impairment – United States, 2014. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2016 May 6;65(17):433-7.