People with depression are more likely to get self-reported vision loss, based on a new study.

Researchers analyzed data from more than 10,000 adults aged 20 and older who took part in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2005 and 2008.

The speed of depression was about 11 percent among individuals with self-reported vision loss and about 5 percent among those who didn’t report vision loss, based on the study, that was published on-line March 7 in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology.

After accounting for a number of variables — including general health, gender and age — the researchers concluded there was a significant association between self-reported vision loss and depression. The study didn’t, nevertheless, reveal that one causes the other.

“This study provides further evidence from a national sample to generalize the relationship between depression and vision loss to adults around the age spectrum,” said Dr. Xinzhi Zhang, of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and colleagues in a journal news release.

“Better recognition of depression among individuals reporting reduced ability to perform routine tasks of daily living as a result of vision loss is justified,” they concluded.