Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
Shanghai Key Laboratory of Ocular Fundus Diseases, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
Clin Interv Aging. 2021 May 25;16:985-996. doi: 10.2147/CIA.S304730. eCollection 2021.
This study aimed to explore the current prevalence, causes, and factors associated with visual impairment in a Chinese elderly population.
A random sample of 2164 candidates aged ≥70 years was selected. Among them, 1914 participants (response rate: 88.4%) underwent comprehensive eye examinations. The prevalence and causes of visual impairment were estimated, and the associated factors were identified.
The standardized prevalence of mild visual impairment (<6/12 to ≥6/18), moderate to severe visual impairment (MSVI) (<6/18 to ≥3/60), and blindness (<3/60) in the better eye were 20.5%, 25.8%, and 3.4%, respectively. The leading cause of visual impairment was cataract (49.7%), followed by uncorrected refractive error (26.5%), myopic maculopathy (5.8%), and posterior capsular opacification (5.5%). Optical coherence tomography revealed that vitreoretinal interface abnormalities were the third most common cause of monocular mild visual impairment (2.2%) and MSVI (4.4%) in the elderly population. A large number of patients with visual impairment (81.7%) were amenable to undergo the interventions. Visual impairment was associated with advanced age (odds ratio [OR], 1.09 per year; <0.001), female sex (OR, 1.59; =0.003), self-reported visual impairment (OR, 1.91; <0.001), cognitive impairment (OR, 1.40, =0.005), and high educational level (OR, 0.75; primary, =0.045; and OR, 0.53, secondary or higher; <0.001).
Visual impairment was common in the Chinese elderly population and a severe health and social problem. Practicable policies are urgently needed to popularize eye health knowledge and promote treatments for visual impairment in elderly people in rural China.
本研究旨在探讨中国老年人群体中视力障碍的当前患病率、病因和相关因素。
随机抽取 2164 名年龄≥70 岁的候选人。其中，1914 名参与者（应答率：88.4%）接受了全面的眼科检查。估计了视力障碍的患病率和病因，并确定了相关因素。
在较好眼，轻度视力障碍（<6/12 至≥6/18）、中度至重度视力障碍（MSVI）（<6/18 至≥3/60）和失明（<3/60）的标准化患病率分别为 20.5%、25.8%和 3.4%。视力障碍的主要病因是白内障（49.7%），其次是未矫正屈光不正（26.5%）、近视性黄斑病变（5.8%）和后囊膜混浊（5.5%）。光学相干断层扫描显示，玻璃体视网膜界面异常是老年人单眼轻度视力障碍（2.2%）和 MSVI（4.4%）的第三大常见病因。大量视力障碍患者（81.7%）可接受干预。视力障碍与年龄较大（每增加 1 年，优势比[OR]为 1.09；<0.001）、女性（OR，1.59；=0.003）、自我报告视力障碍（OR，1.91；<0.001）、认知障碍（OR，1.40；=0.005）和较高的教育水平（OR，0.75；小学，=0.045；OR，0.53，中学或以上；<0.001）相关。
视力障碍在中国老年人群体中很常见，是一个严重的健康和社会问题。迫切需要制定可行的政策，在中国农村普及眼健康知识，促进老年人视力障碍的治疗。
