Vision Loss and Blindness in the United States: An Age-Adjusted Comparison by Sex and Associated Disease Category.

PURPOSE

To evaluate differences in vision loss and blindness by disease category between men and women in the the United States (US).

DESIGN

Retrospective observational study.

PARTICIPANTS

Patients (14 549 105) >50 years old with eye examination data recorded in the American Academy of Ophthalmology IRIS® Registry (Intelligent Research in Sight) between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2018.

METHODS

Patients were assigned to the vision loss cohort and categorized (mild, moderate, severe, blindness) based on the best-corrected visual acuity in the better-seeing eye. The cause of vision loss was assumed using the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision codes for cataract, diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), glaucoma, retinal detachment, retinal vein occlusion, corneal opacity, or amblyopia documented in the electronic health record. The no vision loss cohort was created by subtracting the vision loss cohort from the 2018 total IRIS Registry database.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Primary analyses provided age-adjusted prevalence ratios (PRs) for vision loss conditions for women and men within the vision loss cohort relative to the 2018 US census. Secondary analyses computed age-adjusted PRs for women and men for the same conditions relative to the IRIS Registry.

RESULTS

The age-adjusted PR of vision loss in women versus men when comparing our vision loss cohort relative to the US census was 1.28 (95% confidence interval, 1.27, 1.29) for mild vision loss, 1.29 (1.28, 1.30) for moderate vision loss, 1.35 (1.32, 1.38) for severe vision loss, and 1.54 (1.49, 1.59) for blindness. However, these differences were attenuated when age-adjusted prevalences were computed relative to those who were seen in 2018 in the IRIS Registry database. In women, the prevalence of vision loss associated with cataract and AMD was increased in both analyses, while men had a higher prevalence of vision loss associated with retinal detachment in both analyses.

CONCLUSIONS

Women in the US are more likely to be diagnosed with vision loss at an IRIS Registry practice compared with men, based on clinical presentations relative to the US census. However, this finding is partly driven by the higher rates at which women presented to ophthalmic practices in both the vision loss cohort and no vision loss cohort. The age-adjusted prevalence for vision loss associated with cataract and AMD was higher in women when utilizing both the US census and the 2018 IRIS Registry database as the denominator, which suggests that a true difference in prevalence is present. The same is true for an increase in the age-adjusted relative risk for vision loss associated with retinal detachment in men. These findings warrant further study.

FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES

Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found in the Footnotes and Disclosures at the end of this article.