Turkish Journal of Geriatrics 2014 , Vol 17, Issue 1
CAUSES OF DISABILITY, LOW VISION AND BLINDNESS IN OLD AGE
Osman Okan OLCAYSÜ1, Sertaç Argun KIVANÇ2, Ahmet ALTUN2, Emine ÇİNİCİ1, Hasan ALTINKAYNAK1, Erdinç CEYLAN1
1Erzurum Bölge Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi Göz Kliniği ERZURUM
2Fatih Sultan Mehmet Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi Göz Kliniği İSTANBUL
Introduction: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the causes of disability, blindness and low vision according to ages in patients who applied to our hospital between January 2011 and December 2012 and had at least 40% disability.

Materials and Method: The files of the patients who had at least 40 % disability were analyzed retrospectively and divided into two groups according to age: less than 65 years (Group 1) and ≥65 years (Group 2). The data was evaluated and compared by using SPSS v.15 software.

Results: Two-thousand-eight-hundred and six patients with 40% or more disability were included in to this study. The most three frequent causes of disability according to medical specialty were belonged to psychiatry (16.5%), physical medicine and rehabilitation (15.9%) and ophthalmology (9.7%) in Group 1, and neurology (23.0%), ophthalmology (20.5%) and cardiology (14.4%) in Group 2. The frequencies of amblyopia, degenerative myopia, and hereditary retinal dystrophy in Group 1, and cataract, AMD and glaucoma in Group 2 were higher, respectively.

Conclusion: This study, which determines the frequency and epidemiology of disability, low vision and blindness in elderly patients in the region of Eastern Anatolia, especially in the neighborhood of the city of Erzurum, might give suggestions for possible preventions. Keywords : Blindness; Vision, Low; Disability Evaluation