Visual impairment and eye diseases in elderly institutionalized Australians

Abstract

Objective: To study the prevalence and distribution of visual impairment and eye diseases by age and gender in an urban institutionalized population. Design: Cross-sectional study. Participants: Four hundred three residents of nursing homes and hostels. Methods: Fourteen nursing homes were randomly selected from 104 nursing homes and hostels located within a 5-km radius of each of nine clusters studied in the Visual Impairment Project (VIP) urban cohort. Participants completed a standardized orthoptic and dilated ophthalmic examination, including measurement of visual acuity and visual fields. The major cause of vision loss was identified for participants with visual impairment. Main Outcome..