title: Geographic variation in the prevalence of macular disease among elderly medicare beneficiaries in Kansas.
abstract: This study used Medicare Part B claims and enrollment data to estimate the prevalence of macular disease in Kansas at county and area levels. Spatial analysis by aggregated county clusters was assessed with standardized prevalence ratios and 95% confidence intervals, and a thematic map was produced to illustrate geographic distribution. A total of 17888 unduplicated claims were identified among 335132 beneficiaries older than age 64 years. Compared with the state prevalence of 5.34%, the central agricultural area showed a disproportionately high macular disease prevalence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Nutrition, Kansas State University, 210 Justin Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506-1407, USA. carolann@ksu.edu
authors.forename: Carol Ann
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Holcomb
authors.forename: Mu-Chuan
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D006801:Humans; D038801:International Classification of Diseases; D007615:Kansas / Q000453:epidemiology; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006278:Medicare; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D014481:United States