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Abstract #26204 Published in IGR 12-2
Four-year incidence and progression of visual impairment in Latinos: the Los Angeles Latino Eye Study
Varma R; Chung J; Foong AW; Torres M; Choudhury F; Azen SP; Los Angeles Latino Eye Study GroupAmerican Journal of Ophthalmology 2010; 149: 713-727
PURPOSE: To determine the 4-year incidence of visual impairment (VI) and blindness and worsening of visual acuity in adult Latinos and Hispanics aged 40 years and older. DESIGN: Population-based, longitudinal study. METHODS: Participants underwent a detailed ophthalmologic examination including assessing both presenting binocular visual acuity (PVA) and best-corrected distance visual acuity (BCVA) in both eyes using a standard Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy protocol. The main outcome measures are 4-year incidence of visual impairment and blindness based on PVA or BCVA in the better-seeing eye and defined as (1) baseline visual acuity (PVA or BCVA) of 20/40 or better and a follow-up PVA or BCVA of less than 20/40 but better than 20/200, and (2) baseline PVA better than 20/200 and a follow-up PVA of 20/200 or less, respectively. Monocular worsening was defined as a decrease of 5 or more, 10, and 15 letters in either eye. RESULTS: Four thousand six hundred fifty-eight participants were examined at baseline and the 4-year follow-up. The 4-year incidence of presenting binocular VI and blindness was 2.9% and 0.3%. The 4-year incidence of best-corrected VI and blindness was 1.2% and 0.3%. The 4-year incidence of monocular worsening by 5 or more, 10, and 15 letters was 24.8%, 8.5%, and 3.1%, respectively. The incidence of VI and blindness increased with age at baseline (P < .01). The incidence of VI in the second eye (12.2%) was significantly higher than the incidence of VI in the first eye (2.9%; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the annual incidence of VI in Latinos and Hispanics was higher than that reported in non-Hispanic white persons and the highest reported in a population-based study in the United States. Screening and intervention programs to reduce visual impairment and blindness should focus on the older Latino population.
Doheny Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033-9224, USA. rvarma@usc.edu
Classification:
1.1 Epidemiology (Part of: 1 General aspects)
6.20 Progression (Part of: 6 Clinical examination methods)
