Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-77c78cf97d-5vn5w Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-04-26T13:40:51.692Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 39 - Eye problems of the aged

from Section III - Care of the elderly by organ system

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2016

By
Jessica L. Kalender-Rich ,
Michelle R. Boyce  and
Jason A. Sokol
Edited by
Jan Busby-Whitehead ,
Christine Arenson ,
Samuel C. Durso ,
Daniel Swagerty ,
Laura Mosqueda ,
Maria Fiatarone Singh  and
William Reichel
Jan Busby-Whitehead
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina
Christine Arenson
Affiliation:
Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia
Samuel C. Durso
Affiliation:
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Daniel Swagerty
Affiliation:
University of Kansas
Laura Mosqueda
Affiliation:
University of Southern California
Maria Fiatarone Singh
Affiliation:
University of Sydney
William Reichel
Affiliation:
Georgetown University, Washington DC
Get access

Summary

The management of ocular health in the rapidly aging United States population presents an ever expanding challenge to primary care providers, geriatricians and ophthalmologists alike. The United States defines visual impairment as vision with corrective lenses of worse than 20/40 but better than 20/200 in the better-seeing eye. Vision worse than 20/200 with corrective lens is the definition of legal blindness. Approximately 4.1 million Americans are visually impaired, and 1.2 million Americans 40 years and older are legally blind according to the most recent census. In a population-based study, the rate of visual impairment in individuals 80 years and older was 15 to 30 times greater than individuals 40-50 years old. In addition, because many eye diseases can be insidious in onset, the American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends a comprehensive eye exam every one to two years in otherwise healthy individuals over age 65. Preventing blindness is an important factor in assisting the elderly to function autonomously and lead productive lives. Blinding disorders can cause significant personal, familial, and societal burdens.

Information

Type
Chapter
Information
Reichel's Care of the Elderly
Clinical Aspects of Aging
 , pp. 564 - 576
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2016

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Why is vision loss a public health problem? 2009. www.cdc.gov/visionhealth/basic_information/vision_loss.htm (accessed June 29, 2014).Google Scholar
National Eye Institute. Vision Problems in the US: Prevalence of Adult Vision Impairment and Age-Related Eye Disease in America. 2012. http://visionproblemsus.org/index.html (accessed June 29, 2014).Google Scholar
Tielsch, JM, Sommer, A, Witt, K, et al. Blindness and visual impairment in an American urban population. The Baltimore Eye Survey. Arch Ophthalmol. 1990; 108: 286–290.Google Scholar
American Academy of Ophthalmology Preferred Practice Committee. Comprehensive Adult Eye Examination. San Francisco: American Academy of Ophthalmology; 2010.Google Scholar
Rein, DB, Zhang, P, Wirth, KE, et al. The economic burden of major adult visual disorders in the United States. Arch Ophthalmol. 2006; 124: 1754–1760.Google Scholar
Tantenbaum, MMC. Lacrimal drainage system. In: Tasman, WJE, ed. Duane’s Clinical Ophthalmology. Philadelphia: Lippincott; 2006: vol 4, chap 13.Google Scholar
Rubin, AI, Chen, EH, Ratner, D. Basal-cell carcinoma. N Engl J Med. 2005; 353: 2262–2269.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vaughn, GI DR, Gayre, GS. Eyelid malignancies. In: Yanoff, M DJ, Aggsburger, JJ, eds. Ophthalmology. Philadelphia: Mosby; 2004: chap 93.Google Scholar
Shields, JA, Demirci, H, Marr, BP, et al. Sebaceous carcinoma of the eyelids: personal experience with 60 cases. Ophthalmology. 2004; 111: 2151–2157.Google Scholar
Jacobiec, FA. Sebaceous tumors of the ocular adnexa. In: Albert, DA, Jacobiec, FA, eds. Principles and Practice of Ophthalmology. Philadelphia: Saunders; 1994.Google Scholar
Pepose, JS. The potential impact of the varicella vaccine and new antivirals on ocular disease related to varicella-zoster virus. Am J Ophthalmol. 1997; 123: 243–251.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
The Eye Disease Prevalence Research Group. Prevalence of cataract and pseudophakia/aphakia among adults in the United States. Arch Ophthalmol. 2004; 122: 487–494.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klein, BE, Klein, R, Lee, KE. Incidence of age-related cataract: the Beaver Dam Eye Study. Arch Ophthalmol. 1998; 116: 219–225.Google Scholar
Brenner, MH, Curbow, B, Javitt, IC, et al. Vision change and quality of life in the elderly: response to cataract surgery and treatment of other chronic ocular conditions. Arch Ophthalmol. 1993; 111: 680–685.Google Scholar
Javitt, JC, Yitale, S, Canner, JK, et al. National outcomes of cataract extraction: Endophthalmitis following inpatient surgery. Arch Ophthalmol. 1991; 109: 1085–l089.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
American Academy of Ophthalmology Preferred Practice Committee. Primary Open Angle Glaucoma. San Francisco: American Academy of Ophthalmology; 2010.Google Scholar
Coleman, AL, Brigatti, L. The glaucomas. Minerva Med. 2001; 92: 365–379.Google Scholar
Weinand, FS, Althen, F. Long-term clinical results of selective laser trabeculoplasty in the treatment of primary open angle glaucoma. Eur J Ophthalmol. 2006; 16: 100–104.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Van Overdam, KA, Bettink-Remeijer, MW, Klaver, CC, et al. Symptoms and finding predictive for the development of new retinal breaks. Arch Ophthalmol. 2005; 123: 479–484.Google Scholar
Klein, R, Klein, BE, Moss, SE, et al. The Wisconsin Epidemiologic Study of Diabetic Retinopathy II. Arch Ophthalmol. 1984; 102: 520–526.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Early photocoagulation for diabetic retinopathy. ETDRS report number 9. Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study research group. Ophthalmology. 1991; 98: 766–785.Google Scholar
Branch Vein Occlusion Study Group. Argon laser photocoagulation for macular edema in branch vein occlusion. Am I Ophthalmol. 1984; 98: 271–282.Google Scholar
Macular Photocoagulation Study Group. Argon laser photocoagulation for neovascular maculopathy: five-year results from randomized clinical trials. Arch Ophthalmol. 1991; 109: 1109–1114.Google Scholar
Abraham, P, Yue, H, Wilson, L. Randomized, double-masked, sham-controlled trial of ranibizumab for neovascular age-related macular degeneration: PIER study year 2. Am J Ophthalmol. 2010; 150: 315–324.Google Scholar

Accessibility standard: Unknown

Why this information is here

This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.

Accessibility Information

Accessibility compliance for the HTML of this chapter is currently unknown and may be updated in the future.

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×