. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2016 Apr 29.

Published in final edited form as: Ophthalmology. 2011 Jul 23;118(9):1790–1797. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2011.02.002

Table 5.

Risk Factors for Incident Visual Impairment in Population-Based Studies

Incidence Study	Study Location	Race/Ethnicity	n	Baseline Data Collection	Follow-Up (yrs)	Mean Age (yrs)	Independent Risk Factors for Incident Visual Impairment^† (P<0.05)
Los Angeles Latino Eye Study	United States	Latino	4520	1998–2003	4	55	Older age, unemployment, retirement, diabetes, and history of ocular disease.
Barbados Eye Study¹⁴	Barbados	Afro-Carribean	3142	1987–1992	4	56^*	Older age
Beaver Dam Eye Study⁹	United States	White	3684	1988–1990	5	60	Older age, institutionalization
Blue Mountain Eye Study¹⁰	Australia	White	2335	1992–1994	5	65	Older age, female sex (only for monocular impairment), right eye (only for blindness)
Melbourne Visual Impairment Project¹³	Australia	White	2594	1991–1998	5	59	Older age
Priverno Eye Study¹¹	Italy	White	619	1987	7	57	Older age
Reykjavik Eye Study¹⁵	Iceland	White	846	1996	5	65	Older age
Southwest Uganda¹²	Uganda	Black	2124	1994–1995	3	36	Older age

Median age,

^†

Various definitions, n sample size.

⁹

Klein R, Klein BE, Lee KE. Changes in visual acuity in a population. The Beaver Dam Eye Study. Ophthalmology 1996;103:1169–78.

¹⁰

Foran S, Mitchell P, Wang JJ. Five-year change in visual acuity and incidence of visual impairment: the Blue Mountains Eye Study. Ophthalmology 2003;110:41–50.

¹¹

Cedrone C, Culasso F, Cesareo M, et al. Incidence of blindness and low vision in a sample population: the Priverno Eye Study, Italy. Ophthalmology 2003;110:584–88.

¹²

Mbulaiteye SM, Reeves BC, Mulwanyi F, et al. Incidence of visual loss in rural southwest Uganda. Br J Ophthalmol 2003;87(7):829–33.

¹³

Dimitrov PN, Mukesh BN, McCarty CA, Taylor HR. Five-year incidence of bilateral cause-specific visual impairment in the Melbourne Visual Impairment Project. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2003;44:5075–81.

¹⁴

Leske MC, Wu SY, Hyman L, et al. Four-year incidence of visual impairment: Barbados Incidence Study of Ocular diseases. Ophthalmology 2004;111:118–124.

¹⁵

Gunnlaugsdottir E, Arnarsson A, Jonasson F. Five-year incidence of visual impairment and blindness in older Icelanders: the Reykjavik Eye Study. Acta Ophthalmol 2010;88:358–366.