The Common Cause of Visual Impairment and Blindness Among an Elderly Population in the Province of Kars

Öz

Aim: To describe the common causes of visual impairment and blindness in an elderly population in the province of Kars. 
Material and Method: The study design was cross-sectional and observational. A total of 1820 women and men were successfully enumerated and recruited for the study. All selected subjects were interviewed and underwent detailed ophthalmic examinations. Visual impairment was defined as best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) worse than 20/40 and better than 20/200. Blindness was defined as a BCVA of 20/200 or worse in the better eye. 
Results: The most frequent ophthalmologic disabilities were cataract (40.44%) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) (17.75%). We identified 291 subjects (173 women, 118 men) who were visually impaired in at least one eye with mean age of 77.22±6.17 and 381 subjects (174 women, 207 men) who were blind in at least one eye. In descending order, the causes of bilateral and unilateral blindness in geriatric patients were AMD and cataract. 
Conclusion: This study may help to determine possible precautions by identifying the common causes of visual impairment and blindness in the elderly population in the northeast Anatolia region, specifically Kars.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• cataract,prevalence,age-related macular degeneration

Kars Şehrindeki Yaşlı Nüfusta Görme Bozukluğu ve Körlüğün Yaygın Nedenleri

Öz

Amaç: Kars şehrindeki yaşlı nüfusta görme bozukluğu ve körlüğün yaygın nedenlerini tanımlamak. 
Materyal ve Metot: Bu kesitsel ve gözlemsel çalışmaya toplam 1820 kadın ve erkek dahil edildi. Seçilen tüm gönüllüler ile görüşüldü ve detaylı oftalmik muayeneleri yapıldı. Görme bozukluğu, en iyi düzeltilmiş görme keskinliği (EİDGK) 20/40’tan daha kötü ve 20/200’den daha iyi olarak tanımlandı. Körlük, EİDGK 20/200 veya daha kötü olarak tanımlandı. 
Bulgular: En sık görülen oftalmolojik özürlülük katarakt (%40,44) ve yaşa bağlı makula dejenerasyonu (YBMD) (%17,75) idi. Yaş ortalaması 77,22±6,17 olan, en az bir gözünde görme bozukluğu bulunan 291 olgu (173 kadın, 118 erkek) ile yaş ortalaması 78,45±5,98 olan, en az bir gözünde körlük bulunan 381 olgu (174 kadın, 207 erkek) tespit edildi. Azalan sıra ile geriatrik hastalarda bilateral ve tek taraflı körlük nedenleri YBMD ve katarakt idi. 
Sonuç: Bu çalışma, Kuzeydoğu Anadolu Bölgesi’nde, özellikle Kars’da, yaşlı nüfusta görme bozukluğu ve körlüğün yaygın nedenlerini belirleyerek olası önlemlerin belirlenmesine yardımcı olabilir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• katarakt,prevalans,yaşa bağlı makula dejenerasyonu

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