Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Prevalence and causes of visual impairment in elderly Amis aborigines in eastern Taiwan (the Amis Eye Study)

  • Clinical Investigation
  • Published:
Japanese Journal of Ophthalmology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

To investigate the prevalence and causes of visual impairment in elderly Amis aborigines in Eastern Taiwan.

Methods

Population-based cross-sectional study of visual impairment of elderly Amis (65 years of age or older). We conducted ocular examinations on 2,316 participants, which represent 61.2 % of the elderly population. We used WHO criteria to identify visual impaired subjects, and the causes were analyzed.

Results

Ninety-four subjects were identified with low vision and nineteen were blind. The prevalence of low vision was 4.06 % (95 % confidence interval, 3.26, 4.56 %); that of blindness was 0.82 % (95 % confidence interval, 0.45, 1.19 %). Cataracts (47.79 %) were the main cause of visual impairment, followed by age-related macular degeneration (15.93 %), corneal opacity (7.96 %), optic neuropathy (7.96 %), diabetic retinopathy (5.31 %), and retinitis pigmentosa (2.65 %). Glaucoma was a minor cause of visual impairment. There were no significant gender differences in the prevalence and specific causes of visual impairment.

Conclusion

The prevalence of treatable causes of vision impairment, for example cataracts and corneal opacity, is high among the elderly Amis aborigines. They would, therefore, benefit from a more aggressive and in-depth eye-care program as a blindness-prevention strategy.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Lin M, Broadberry RE. Immunohematology in Taiwan. Transfus Med Rev. 1998;12:56–72.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Trejaut JA, Kivisild T, Loo JH, Lee CL, He CL, Hsu CJ, et al. Traces of archaic mitochondrial lineages persist in Austronesian-speaking Formosan populations. PLoS Biol. 2005;3:e247.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Huang TL, Hsu SY, Tsai RK, Sheu MM. Etiology of ocular diseases in elderly Amis aborigines in Eastern Taiwan (The Amis Eye Study). Jpn J Ophthalmol. 2010;54:266–71.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Bird AC, Bressler NM, Bressler SB, Chisholm IH, Coscas G, Davis MD, et al. An international classification and grading system for age-related maculopathy and age-related macular degeneration. The International ARM Epidemiological Study Group. Surv Ophthalmol. 1995;39:367–74.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Klein R, Davis MD, Magli YL, Segal P, Klein BE, Hubbard L. The Wisconsin age-related maculopathy grading system. Ophthalmology. 1991;98:1128–34.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Chylack LT Jr, Wolfe JK, Singer DM, Leske MC, Bullimore MA, Bailey IL, et al. The lens opacities classification system III. The longitudinal study of Cataract Study Group. Arch Ophthalmol. 1993;111:831–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Jaross N, Ryan P, Newland H. Incidence and progression of diabetic retinopathy in an Aboriginal Australian population: results from the Katherine Region Diabetic Retinopathy Study (KRDRS). Report no. 2. Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2005;33:26–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Hsu WM, Cheng CY, Liu JH, Tsai SY, Chou P. Prevalence and causes of visual impairment in an elderly Chinese population in Taiwan: the Shihpai Eye Study. Ophthalmology. 2004;111:62–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Saw S-M, Foster PJ, Gazzard G, Seah S. Causes of blindness, low vision, and questionnaire-assessed poor visual function in Singaporean Chinese adults: the Tanjong Pagar Survey. Ophthalmology. 2004;111:1161–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Iwase A, Araie M, Tomidokoro A, Yamamoto T, Shimizu H, Kitazawa Y. Prevalence and causes of low vision and blindness in a Japanese adult population: the Tajimi Study. Ophthalmology. 2006;113:1354–62.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Zhao J, Ellwein LB, Cui H, Ge J, Guan H, Lv J, et al. Prevalence of vision impairment in older adults in rural China: the China Nine-Province Survey. Ophthalmology. 2010;117:409–16, 16 e1.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Michon JJ, Lau J, Chan WS, Ellwein LB. Prevalence of visual impairment, blindness, and cataract surgery in the Hong Kong elderly. Br J Ophthalmol. 2002;86:133–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Wong TY, Chong EW, Wong WL, Rosman M, Aung T, Loo JL, et al. Prevalence and causes of low vision and blindness in an urban Malay population: the Singapore Malay Eye Study. Arch Ophthalmol. 2008;126:1091–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Ko YC, Liu BH, Hsieh SF. Issues on aboriginal health in Taiwan. Gaoxiong Yi Xue Ke Xue Za Zhi (in Chinese). 1994;10:337–51.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Taylor HR, Xie J, Fox S, Dunn RA, Arnold AL, Keeffe JE. The prevalence and causes of vision loss in Indigenous Australians: the National Indigenous Eye Health Survey. Med J Aust. 2010;192:312–8.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Wang JJ, Jakobsen K, Smith W, Mitchell P. Five-year incidence of age-related maculopathy in relation to iris, skin or hair colour, and skin sun sensitivity: the Blue Mountains Eye Study. Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2003;31:317–21.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Kawasaki R, Yasuda M, Song SJ, Chen SJ, Jonas JB, Wang JJ, et al. The prevalence of age-related macular degeneration in Asians: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Ophthalmology. 2010;117:921–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Mann I, Potter D. Geographic ophthalmology. A preliminary study of the Maoris of New Zealand. Am J Ophthalmol. 1969;67:358–69.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Heath SA, Heath BH. Trachoma and other eye disease in a New Guinea village. Am J Ophthalmol. 1973;75:121–9.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Nakamura Y, Tomidokoro A, Sawaguchi S, Sakai H, Iwase A, Araie M. Prevalence and causes of low vision and blindness in a rural Southwest Island of Japan: the Kumejima study. Ophthalmology. 2010;117:2315–21.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Xu L, You QS, Cui T, Jonas JB. Association between asymmetry in cataract and asymmetry in age-related macular degeneration. The Beijing Eye Study. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2011;249:981–5.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Yi-Hwei Li, Ph.D., Associate Professor of the Department of Public Health at Tzu-Chi University, for her help with the statistics.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Min-Muh Sheu.

About this article

Cite this article

Chen, N., Huang, TL., Tsai, RK. et al. Prevalence and causes of visual impairment in elderly Amis aborigines in eastern Taiwan (the Amis Eye Study). Jpn J Ophthalmol 56, 624–630 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10384-012-0178-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10384-012-0178-8

Keywords

Navigation