title: Prevalence of refractive errors in the European adult  population: the Gutenberg Health Study (GHS).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the distribution of refractive errors among adults of European descent.
  
  
  METHODS
  Population-based eye study in Germany with 15010 participants aged 35-74 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study participants underwent a detailed ophthalmic examination according to a standardised protocol. Refractive error was determined by an automatic refraction device (Humphrey HARK 599) without cycloplegia. Definitions for the analysis were myopia <-0.5 dioptres (D), hyperopia >+0.5 D, astigmatism >0.5 cylinder D and anisometropia >1.0 D difference in the spherical equivalent between the eyes. Exclusion criterion was previous cataract or refractive surgery.
  
  
  RESULTS
  13959 subjects were eligible. Refractive errors ranged from -21.5 to +13.88 D. Myopia was present in 35.1% of this study sample, hyperopia in 31.8%, astigmatism in 32.3% and anisometropia in 13.5%. The prevalence of myopia decreased, while the prevalence of hyperopia, astigmatism and anisometropia increased with age. 3.5% of the study sample had no refractive correction for their ametropia.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Refractive errors affect the majority of the population. The Gutenberg Health Study sample contains more myopes than other study cohorts in adult populations. Our findings do not support the hypothesis of a generally lower prevalence of myopia among adults in Europe as compared with East Asia.
authors: Christian
authors: C
authors: Wolfram
authors: René
authors: R
authors: Höhn
authors: Ulrike
authors: U
authors: Kottler
authors: Philipp
authors: P
authors: Wild
authors: Maria
authors: M
authors: Blettner
authors: Jens
authors: J
authors: Bühren
authors: Norbert
authors: N
authors: Pfeiffer
authors: Alireza
authors: A
authors: Mirshahi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012030:Refractive Errors / Q000453:epidemiology*; D042262:Retinoscopy; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014787:Vision Tests; D014792:Visual Acuity; D044465:White People