{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]],"date-time":"2026-09-04T05:08:19Z","timestamp":1788498499739,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":12,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"7145","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[1998,5,30]],"date-time":"1998-05-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":896486400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/www.bmj.com\/company\/legal-information\/terms-conditions\/legal-information\/tdm-licencepolicy"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["BMJ"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[1998,2,4]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[1998,5,30]]},"abstract":"Abstract<\/jats:title>\n \n Objective:<\/jats:bold>\n To estimate the magnitude of serious eye disorders and of visual impairment in a defined elderly population of a typical metropolitan area in England, and to assess the frequency they were in touch with, or known to, the eye care services.\n <\/jats:p>\n \n Design:<\/jats:bold>\n Cross sectional survey using two stage cluster random sampling.\n <\/jats:p>\n \n Setting:<\/jats:bold>\n General practices in north London.\n <\/jats:p>\n \n Subjects:<\/jats:bold>\n Random sample of people aged 65 and older, drawn from a defined population of elderly people registered with 17 general practice groups.\n <\/jats:p>\n \n Main outcome measures:<\/jats:bold>\n Proportions and population prevalence estimates were determined for visual acuity, assessed with the person's own spectacles (if any), classified into four categories: prevalence of cataract, age related macular degeneration, and refractive error causing visual impairment and of definite primary open angle glaucoma; and status of contact with eye services.\n <\/jats:p>\n \n Results:<\/jats:bold>\n 1547 of 1840 (84%) eligible people were examined. The population prevalence of bilateral visual impairment (visual acuity <6\/12) was 30%, of which 72% was potentially remediable. 92 of these 448 cases (21%) had visual acuity <6\/60 (\u201cblindness\u201d) in one or both eyes. Prevalence of cataract causing visual impairment was 30%; 88% of these people were not in touch with the eye services. The prevalence of vision impairing, age related macular degeneration was 8% and of glaucoma (definite cases) was 3%. Three quarters of the people with definite glaucoma were not known to the eye services.\n <\/jats:p>\n \n Conclusions:<\/jats:bold>\n Untreated visual impairment and eye disorders affect a substantial proportion of people aged 65 years and older. These findings should contribute to the setting up of future strategies for preservation of sight and eye health services in general.\n <\/jats:p>\n \n \n \n Key messages<\/jats:title>\n \n \n Data have not been adequate to reliably estimate the extent of visual impairment and serious eye disease in metropolitan areas in Britain<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:list-item>\n \n Data from north London shows that 30% of a sample of the population aged 65 or older are visually impaired in both eyes<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:list-item>\n \n More than 72% of the bilateral visual impairment was potentially remediable by surgery or glasses, nearly one in three people had visually impairing cataract, and 88% of these people were not in touch with eye services<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:list-item>\n \n Eye problems were more prevalent in people living in relatively underprivileged areas<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:list-item>\n <\/jats:list>\n <\/jats:sec>\n <\/jats:boxed-text>\n <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.316.7145.1643","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2011,10,27]],"date-time":"2011-10-27T19:52:58Z","timestamp":1319745178000},"page":"1643-1646","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":157,"title":["Prevalence of serious eye disease and visual impairment in a north London population: population based, cross sectional study"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"316","author":[{"given":"A","family":"Reidy","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"D C","family":"Minassian","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"G","family":"Vafidis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"J","family":"Joseph","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"S","family":"Farrow","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"J","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"P","family":"Desai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"A","family":"Connolly","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[1998,5,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"2025122207595798000_316.7145.1643.1","first-page":"196","article-title":"A study of the prevalence of eye disease in the elderly in an English community","volume":"104","author":"Gibson","year":"1985","journal-title":"Trans Ophthalmol Soc UK"},{"key":"2025122207595798000_316.7145.1643.2","first-page":"335","article-title":"The Framingham eye study monograph: an ophthalmological and epidemiological study of cataract, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, and visual acuity in a general population of 2631 adults, 1973-1975","volume":"24","author":"Leibowitz","year":"1980","journal-title":"Surv Ophthalmol"},{"key":"2025122207595798000_316.7145.1643.3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/archopht.1990.01070040138048"},{"key":"2025122207595798000_316.7145.1643.4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bjo.77.1.17"},{"key":"2025122207595798000_316.7145.1643.5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"357","DOI":"10.1016\/S0161-6420(96)30684-2","article-title":"Visual acuity and causes of visual loss in Australia","volume":"103","author":"Attebo","year":"1996","journal-title":"Ophthalmology"},{"key":"2025122207595798000_316.7145.1643.6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1226","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.304.6836.1226","article-title":"Visual problems in the elderly population and implications for services","volume":"304","author":"Wormald","year":"1992","journal-title":"BMJ"},{"key":"2025122207595798000_316.7145.1643.7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1587","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.289.6458.1587","article-title":"Underprivileged areas: validation and distribution of scores","volume":"289","author":"Jarman","year":"1984","journal-title":"BMJ"},{"key":"2025122207595798000_316.7145.1643.8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/archopht.1988.01060130356020"},{"key":"2025122207595798000_316.7145.1643.9","unstructured":"Cochran W . Sampling techniques. New York: John Wiley, 1977."},{"key":"2025122207595798000_316.7145.1643.10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1721","DOI":"10.1016\/S0161-6420(96)30435-1","article-title":"The cause-specific prevalence of visual impairment in an urban population: the Baltimore eye study","volume":"103","author":"Rahmani","year":"1996","journal-title":"Ophthalmology"},{"key":"2025122207595798000_316.7145.1643.11","first-page":"557","article-title":"A comprehensive assessment of visual impairment in a population of older Americans: the SEE study","volume":"38","author":"Rubin","year":"1997","journal-title":"Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci"},{"key":"2025122207595798000_316.7145.1643.12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"151","DOI":"10.3109\/09286589509057097","article-title":"The epidemiology of cataract: a review of the literature","volume":"2","author":"Livingston","year":"1995","journal-title":"Ophthal Epidemiol"}],"container-title":["BMJ"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"http:\/\/data.bmj.org\/tdm\/10.1136\/bmj.316.7145.1643","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/syndication.highwire.org\/content\/doi\/10.1136\/bmj.316.7145.1643","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,22]],"date-time":"2025-12-22T16:00:06Z","timestamp":1766419206000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.bmj.com\/lookup\/doi\/10.1136\/bmj.316.7145.1643"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[1998,5,30]]},"references-count":12,"journal-issue":{"issue":"7145","published-online":{"date-parts":[[1998,5,30]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[1998,5,30]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1136\/bmj.316.7145.1643"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/bmj.316.7145.1643","relation":{},"ISSN":["0959-8138","1468-5833"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0959-8138","type":"print"},{"value":"1468-5833","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[1998,5,30]]}}}