Changes in causes of visual handicaps in Tokyo.

Newly registered visually handicapped patients at the Tokyo Metropolitan Rehabilitation Center for the Physically and Mentally Handicapped were studied in 1968 (when the facility was opened), 1978, and 1988. Examinations were carried out by the same physicians and diagnoses were made by uniform criteria. Since approximately 10% of the total population of Japan lives in Tokyo, the statistics on the causes of visual handicaps in this area deserve to be reported. The changes observed over the past twenty years are as follows: There were few changes in the percentages of high myopia, retinal degeneration and senile cataract. The percentages of corneal opacity, retinopathy of prematurity, congenital cataract and optic atrophy decreased, while those of diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and retinal macular degeneration increased. Advances in medical treatment and the shift into an aging society in Japan are responsible for these changes observed.