Hod Y, Corcia Y, Yassur Y, Geyer O
Dept. of Ophthalmology, Carmel Medical Center Haifa.
Harefuah. 2000 Feb 15;138(4):276-8, 342.
Of the world population, 38 million are blind and another 110 million are visually impaired. Even in the developed countries there are 3.5 million who are blind. This study of blindness in Israel is based on the National Blind Registry. At the end of 1998, 15,937 were registered as blind, 0.3% of the total population; 776 (5%) of them were 18 years old or younger; 6,426 (40%) 18-65 years old; and 8,735 (55%) 65 years or older. The leading causes of blindness in Israel are glaucoma (2,074, 13%), macular degeneration (1,954, 12%) and diabetes mellitus (1,680, 11%). Since glaucoma and diabetes, and to a lesser extent glaucoma, respond to treatment, blindness could have been avoided in most cases. National screening programs for early diagnosis and treatment of these diseases would reduce prevalence of the newly blind.
全球人口中，有3800万人失明，另有1.1亿人存在视力障碍。即使在发达国家，也有350万人失明。这项关于以色列失明情况的研究基于国家盲人登记处的数据。1998年底，登记为盲人的有15937人，占总人口的0.3%；其中776人（5%）为18岁及以下；6426人（40%）为18至65岁；8735人（55%）为65岁及以上。以色列失明的主要原因是青光眼（2074例，占13%）、黄斑变性（1954例，占12%）和糖尿病（1680例，占11%）。由于青光眼和糖尿病，以及程度较轻的青光眼，都对治疗有反应，所以在大多数情况下失明是可以避免的。针对这些疾病进行早期诊断和治疗的全国筛查项目将降低新增盲人的患病率。
