Journal
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF OPHTHALMOLOGY
Volume 154, Issue 6, Pages S53-S62Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajo.2011.08.045
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Funding
- National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta, Georgia)
- Intra Agency from the Division of Diabetes Translation [05FED47304]
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Intramural Research Program grant (Bethesda, Maryland) [ZIAEY000402]
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PURPOSE: To assess vision health disparities in the United States by race/ethnicity, education, and economic status. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, nationally representative samples. METHODS: We used national survey data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Main outcome measures included, from NHANES, age-related eye diseases (ie, age-related macular degeneration [AMD], cataract, diabetic retinopathy [DR], glaucoma) and from NHIS, eye care use (ie, eye doctor visits and cannot afford eyeglasses when needed) among those with self-reported visual impairment. The estimates were age- and sex-standardized to the 2000 US Census population. Linear trends in the estimates were assessed by weighted least squares regression. RESULTS: Non-Hispanic whites had a higher prevalence of AMD and cataract surgery than non-Hispanic blacks, but a lower prevalence of DR and glaucoma (all P < .001 in NHANES 2005-2008). From 1999 to 2008, individuals with less education (ie, high school) and lower income (poverty income ratio [PM] <1.00 vs >= 4.00) were consistently less likely to have had an eye care visit in the past 12 months compared with their counterparts (all P <.05). During this period, inability to afford needed eyeglasses increased among non-Hispanic whites and Hispanics (trend P = .004 and P = .007; respectively), those with high school education (trend P = .036), and those with PIR 1.00-1.99 (trend P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Observed vision health disparities suggest a need for educational and innovative interventions among socioeconomically disadvantaged groups. (Am J Ophthalmol 2012;154:S53-S62. (c) 2012 Published by Elsevier Inc.)
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