Self-reported age-related eye diseases and visual impairment in the United States: results of the 2002 national health interview survey.
OBJECTIVE
We sought to establish national data on the prevalence of visual impairment, blindness, and selected eye conditions (cataract, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and macular degeneration) and to characterize these conditions within sociodemographic subgroups.


METHODS
Information on self-reported visual impairment and diagnosed eye diseases was collected from 31,044 adults. We calculated weighted prevalence estimates and odds ratios with logistic regression using SUDAAN.


RESULTS
Among noninstitutionalized US adults 18 years and older, the estimated prevalence for visual impairment was 9.3% (19.1 million Americans), including 0.3% (0.7 million) with blindness. Lifetime prevalence of diagnosed diseases was as follows: cataract, 8.6% (17 million); glaucoma, 2.0% (4 million); macular degeneration, 1.1% (2 million); and diabetic retinopathy, 0.7% (1.3 million). The prevalence of diabetic retinopathy among persons with diagnosed diabetes was 9.9%.


CONCLUSIONS
We present the most recently available national data on self-reported visual impairment and selected eye diseases in the United States. The results of this study provide a baseline for future public health initiatives relating to visual impairment.
Ryskulova
Asel
A
Office of Analysis and Epidemiology, National Center for Health Statistics, CDC, 3311 Toledo Rd, Room 6309, Hyattsville, MD 20782, USA. aryskulova@cdc.gov
Turczyn
Kathleen
K
Makuc
Diane M
DM
Cotch
Mary Frances
MF
Klein
Richard J
RJ
Janiszewski
Rosemary
R
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002386:Cataract / Q000453:epidemiology; D004522:Educational Status; D005128:Eye Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000453:epidemiology; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011203:Poverty; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*