For their studies, researchers evaluated data from their Proyecto VER (Vision Evaluation and Research) study, supported by the National Eye Institute, which looked at vision problems among 4,774 Mexican-Americans ages 40 and older living in Tucson and Nogales, Ariz. Participants were randomly selected based on information from the 1990 census. They filled out a health questionnaire and underwent a thorough eye exam in a clinic.
Sixty-five percent of the participants were born in Mexico, and more than 90 percent had at least one parent also born in Mexico. Overall, they scored poorly on scales designed to assess their adjustment to American culture. Only 35 percent of them completed high school and 66 percent reported an average annual income of less than $20,000.
In the first study, of causes of blindness, the blindness prevalence in those ages 40 to 64 was 0.12 percent, rising to 0.77 percent among those age 65 and older. Visual impairment rates also were age-dependent, increasing from 0.55 percent in those ages 40 to 64 to 5.62 percent in those age 65 and older. Overall, women were more likely than men to have vision loss.
In the younger age category (40-64), diabetic retinopathy was the leading cause of visual impairment, with a prevalence of 0.20 percent. Among people age 65 and older, cataract was the leading cause of visual impairment, with a prevalence of 3 percent, followed by age-related macular degeneration (0.92 percent) and glaucoma (0.46 percent).
In the second study, of uncorrected visual impairment, 8 percent of study participan
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Contact: Karen Blum
kblum@jhmi.edu
410-955-1534
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
5-Apr-2002