Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: Few epidemiological data were available on refractive status in elderly Chinese. The study was to determine the prevalence and associations with refractive errors in an elderly Chinese population in Taiwan. Methods: A population-based study was conducted in Shihpai district, Taipei, Taiwan. Two thousand thirty-eight residents aged 65 years or old were randomly selected and invited for a comprehensive questionnaire and a detailed eye examination, including refraction. Results: The prevalence of myopia (< -0.5 D), high myopia (< -6.0 D), hyperopia (≷ 0.5 D), astigmatism (≷ 0.5 D of cylinder), and anisometropia (≷ 1.0 D between eyes) was 18.3% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 16.0%, 20.6%), 2.3% (95% CI: 1.4%, 3.1%), 60.1% (95% CI: 57.2%, 63.0%), 73.4% (95% CI: 70.8%, 76.0%), and 19.9% (95% CI: 17.4%, 22.3%), respectively. The prevalence of myopia, astigmatism, and anisometropia increased with age (all P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in prevalence between genders. With multivariate analysis, the spherical equivalence was negatively associated with the severity of nuclear opacity (P < 0.001). Educational levels, body height and weight, diabetes, hypertension, and smoking were not associated with myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism or anisometropia. Conclusion: Refractive errors are common among elderly Chinese. But as compared to school children and young adults in Taiwan, this elderly Chinese population has relatively lower rates of myopia, and some of the sociodemographic associations were dissimilar.
Keywords: 542 refraction • 354 clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: prevalence/incidence • 355 clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: risk factor assessment