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Eye disease in elderly people

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 April 2001

Iain Chisholm
Affiliation:
Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, UK

Abstract

The majority of patients seen in ophthalmic clinics are over the age of 60. In addition, ophthalmology is a major care provider for elderly people. In the author’s unit a recent review of patients undergoing surgery showed that 75% of them were over the age of 60 and 38% over 75. Ten years ago these proportions were 50% and 25% respectively. Much of this reflects the increasing demand for and success of cataract surgery. Age-related macular degeneration is the major cause of visual loss in the United Kingdom and elsewhere and is responsible for 48.5% of all patients registered blind or partially sighted in England and Wales.

Type
Review Article
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 1998

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