Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: To compare the differences in ophthalmic care between prison inmates and non-inmate patients at an urban eye clinic. Methods: 193 consecutive inmates were given complete eye examinations at our institution between January 1, 2001 and October 31, 2001. They were compared with 200 consecutive non-incarcerated «control» patients. Results: The inmates were more likely to be young (mean age 43 vs. 56, p < 0.001) and male (84% vs. 37%, p < 0.001), but less likely to be African-American (52% vs. 77%, p < 0.001) or diabetic (21% vs. 40%, p < 0.001) than control patients. There were no statistically significant differences between groups with regard to history of HIV infection, glaucoma, or acute eye trauma. Inmates were less likely to have had prior intraocular surgery (22% vs. 33%, p = 0.02). The most common diagnoses for inmates were primary open-angle glaucoma (9.0%), myopia (8.0%), and glaucoma suspect (6.0%). The most common diagnoses for controls were primary open-angle glaucoma (13%), proliferative diabetic retinopathy (9.0%), and post-operative cataract extraction (8.0%). There were no differences between groups with regard to recommendations for cataract surgery, glaucoma surgery, or vitreoretinal surgery. Diabetic inmates were less likely to present with retinopathy requiring laser photocoagulation than non-inmate diabetics (4.0% vs. 11%, p = 0.01). Conclusions: A high prevalence of glaucoma is documented in an inmate population, as well as younger age and male gender. In our clinic, inmates appear to have good access to ophthalmic care and do not represent a more severe case mix than non-inmates.
Keywords: 354 clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: prevalence/incidence • 351 clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: health care delivery/economics/manpower