Macular degeneration related to age as a cause of low vision

Abstract

A descriptive cross-sectional study with the patients of the Low Vision Services at the Arnaldo Milián Castro Provincial University Hospital was carried out. The aim was to determine the incidence of macular degeneration related to age in our environment. This condition is a degenerative illness which affects the center of the retina in people over 60 years of age, being the second cause, after diabetes, of visual disability in elderly people. Our province presents one of the highest longevity rates in the country, thus, we wanted to assess the epidemiology of this illness and the behavior of visual rehabilitation in those cases. Our study universe was the whole of the patients who attended this service since its implementation; that is to say from September 1997 to December 2007. All the patients underwent a full clinical ophthalmologic assessment and low vision tests. From a total amount of 434 persons in the study, 7.83 percent presented macular degeneration related to age as a cause of visual disability. Most of the cases were females (64.70%); the most affected age group was between 70 and 79 years of age (14 cases); long range visual acuity improved in 39 eyes and none of them presented a worsening in this aspect. The 85.29 percent of the patients were already rehabilitated when discharged; six of them with conventional optical corrections for close range and 23 with optical aids. Five patients were not considered as rehabilitated because they did not reach the proposed goals, though they improved their visual acuity and therefore their quality of life.