The Common Cause of Visual Impairment and Blindness Among an Elderly Population in the Province of Kars

Aim: To describe the common causes of visual impairment and blindness in an elderly population in the province of Kars. Material and Method: The study design was cross-sectional and observational. A total of 1820 women and men were successfully enumerated and recruited for the study. All selected subjects were interviewed and underwent detailed ophthalmic examinations. Visual impairment was defined as best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) worse than 20/40 and better than 20/200. Blindness was defined as a BCVA of 20/200 or worse in the better eye. Results: The most frequent ophthalmologic disabilities were cataract (40.44%) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) (17.75%). We identified 291 subjects (173 women, 118 men) who were visually impaired in at least one eye with mean age of 77.22±6.17 and 381 subjects (174 women, 207 men) who were blind in at least one eye. In descending order, the causes of bilateral and unilateral blindness in geriatric patients were AMD and cataract. Conclusion: This study may help to determine possible precautions by identifying the common causes of visual impairment and blindness in the elderly population in the northeast Anatolia region, specifically Kars