title: Time trends in the incidence and causes of blindness in Israel.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate time trends in the incidence and causes of new cases of blindness in Israel between 1999 and 2008.
  
  
  METHODS
  Descriptive, retrospective population-based study.
  
  
  METHODS
  During the decade of the study, 19 862 inhabitants of Israel were newly registered as legally blind. Data were retrieved from the 1999 to 2008 annual reports of the National Registry of the Blind in Israel and were reviewed retrospectively. Specific rates by age, gender, calendar year, and cause of blindness were calculated. Total and cause-specific annual age-standardized rates were calculated as well. Findings were evaluated by the use of Poisson regression models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The age-standardized rate of incidence of newly registered legal blindness at the end of the studied decade was half of that at the beginning, declining from 33.8 per 100 000 in 1999 to 16.6 per 100 000 in 2008. The decline mainly was attributable to a decreased incidence of blindness resulting from age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and cataract.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Contemporary interventions in ophthalmology combined with widely available universal free access to healthcare seem to be effective in causing a major reduction in the incidence of blindness.
authors.affiliation: Goldschleger Eye Institute, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Aviv University, Tel Hashomer, Israel. skaatalon@gmail.com
authors.forename: Alon
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Skaat
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chetrit
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Belkin
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kinori
authors.forename: Ofra
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kalter-Leibovici
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001766:Blindness / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D002386:Cataract / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003930:Diabetic Retinopathy / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012042:Registries / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013997:Time Factors; D019987:Persons with Visual Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult