Vision Screening in the Elderly and Operations for the Blind: Results in the Year of 2003

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To report the results of vision screening in the elderly and operations for the blind in 2003. METHODS: A nation-wide, indigent aged group of over 65-year-old of low-income population was surveyed. Visual acuity was tested, refractive error was measured, and ocular examination was performed to determine the group needed for operation. RESULTS: Among the indigent subjects who live in urban or rural community, 7, 750 subjects aged over 65 years old were examined by the ophthalmologists. For those screened, the most common ocular disease was cataract (4, 383 subjects, 45.4%), followed by conjunctival and scleral disease (1, 741 eyes, 18%), retinal disease (434 eyes, 4.5%), refractive errors (374 eyes, 3.9%). Surgery was performed on 1, 813 eyes of 1, 109 subjects, and these were classified by the disease category. Surgery for cataract was performed on 1, 762 eyes (97.2%), and for retinal disease on 51 eyes (2.8%). The visual acuity change after cataract surgery was 0.23 +/- 0.15 preoperatively and 0.64 +/- 0.25 postoperatively. CONCLUSIONS: Among the geriatric public health problem in eye care services, the most prevalent cause of visual impairment was senile cataract, for which the vision can be improved by surgery. Therefore, continuous vision screening and surgery for the blind among this group are important and should be performed more extensively.