May 2004
Volume 45, Issue 13
Free
ARVO Annual Meeting Abstract  |   May 2004
Prevalence and Causes of 10–year Incident Visual Impairment in an Older Population: the Blue Mountains Eye Study
E.–M. Chia; P. Mitchell; A.J. Lee; E. Rochtchina; E. Ojaimi; J.J. Wang; Blue Mountains Eye Study
Author Affiliations & Notes
  • E.–M. Chia
    Department of Ophthalmology, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
  • P. Mitchell
    Department of Ophthalmology, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
  • A.J. Lee
    Department of Ophthalmology, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
  • E. Rochtchina
    Department of Ophthalmology, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
  • E. Ojaimi
    Department of Ophthalmology, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
  • J.J. Wang
    Department of Ophthalmology, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
  • Blue Mountains Eye Study
    Department of Ophthalmology, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
  • Footnotes
    Commercial Relationships  E. Chia, None; P. Mitchell, None; A.J. Lee, None; E. Rochtchina, None; E. Ojaimi, None; J.J. Wang, None.
  • Footnotes
    Support  Australian National Health & Medical Research Council Grant Nos. 974159, 9938567, 211069
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science May 2004, Vol.45, 1127. doi:
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      E.–M. Chia, P. Mitchell, A.J. Lee, E. Rochtchina, E. Ojaimi, J.J. Wang, Blue Mountains Eye Study; Prevalence and Causes of 10–year Incident Visual Impairment in an Older Population: the Blue Mountains Eye Study . Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2004;45(13):1127.

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Abstract

Abstract: : Purpose: To describe the incidence and causes of visual impairment over a 10–year period. Methods: Survivors of the baseline Blue Mountains Eye Study, conducted during 1992–4, were examined after 10–years. Monocular distance LogMAR visual acuity was measured with habitual correction and after subjective refraction using Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study protocols. Underlying causes of visual impairment were determined from clinical and photographic data. Incident visual impairment and blindness were defined as visual acuity 20/40 or better at baseline but worse than 20/40 and worse than 20/200, respectively, at 10–years. Unilateral impairment was defined from the visual acuity in the worse eye and bilateral impairment from the visual acuity in the better eye. Results: By November 2003, 1440 participants were examined, of whom 1349 had no visual impairment at baseline. After refractive correction, the 10–year incidence of unilateral and bilateral visual impairment was 8.5% and 2.7%, respectively. The incidence of second eye visual impairment in persons with unilateral impairment at baseline was 17.2%. Both unilateral and bilateral visual impairment were strongly age– (p for trend <0.0001) and gender–related (women: unilateral 69.6%, bilateral 67.6%). The 10–year incidence of unilateral and bilateral blindness was 1.3% and 0.4% respectively, and was also strongly age–related (p for trend <0.0001) and was more frequent among women than men (unilateral 83.3%, bilateral 100%). Predominant underlying causes of incident visual impairment were cataract (unilateral 50.4%, bilateral 36.5%) and age–related maculopathy (unilateral 19.1%, bilateral 54.1%). Similarly, incident blindness was most frequently caused by age–related maculopathy (unilateral 58.3%, bilateral 100%), with cataract accounting for 25.0% of unilateral blindness. Conclusions: Our 10–year incidence data are comparable to those from the Beaver Dam Eye Study and confirm that incident visual impairment and blindness are strongly age–related and are more frequent among women. The most frequent underlying causes of incident visual impairment and blindness in this population were cataract and age–related maculopathy.

Keywords: clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: prevalence/incidence 
© 2004, The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc., all rights reserved. Permission to republish any abstract or part of an abstract in any form must be obtained in writing from the ARVO Office prior to publication.
Copyright © 2024 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.
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