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Abstract #10082 Published in IGR 6-1
Prevalence and causes of visual impairment and blindness among 9980 Scandinavian adults: the Copenhagen City Eye Study
Buch H; Vinding T; la Cour M; Appleyard M; Jensen GB; Nielsen NVOphthalmology 2004; 111: 53-61
PURPOSE: To investigate the age-specific prevalence and causes of visual impairment and blindness in an epidemiological study of an adult Scandinavian population. DESIGN: Population-based, cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS: The study population was composed of 9980 persons, aged 20-84 years, from the general population of Copenhagen. METHODS: This study is based on the third Copenhagen City Heart Study (CCHS III). Participants who reported visual impairment or blindness or had difficulty reading newspaper type and used prescribed eye medications were contacted from 1999 through 2000 and asked to complete a standardized interview concerning their ophthalmologic history. Verification of objective ophthalmologic data was performed with a validated questionnaire response method. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Best-corrected visual acuity in the better eye and primary causes of visual impairment and blindness. Visual impairment was defined as visual acuity worse than 20/40 but better than 20/200, and blindness was defined as visual acuity of 20/200 or worse. RESULTS: The age-standardized prevalence rates of visual impairment and blindness were 0.66 and 0.20%, respectively, and rose significantly with age (p < 0.001). For persons aged 20-64 years, myopia-related retinal disorders, diabetic retinopathy, optic neuropathy, and retinitis pigmentosa were the most common causes of impaired vision. For persons aged 65-84 years, cataract was the most common cause of visual impairment, whereas age-related macular degeneration was the major cause of blindness. CONCLUSIONS: Visual impairment and blindness are strongly associated with increasing age, and the causes are determined by age. Among persons aged 20-64 years, an intervention for the predominating eye diseases might have some effect. Among those aged 65-84 years, cataract surgery could reduce visual impairment by one-third.
Dr. H. Buch, Department of Ophthalmology, National University Hospital (Rigshospitalet), Copenhagen, Denmark. hbh@dadlnet.dk
Classification:
1.5 Glaucomas as cause of blindness (Part of: 1 General aspects)
