Etiology of ocular diseases in elderly Amis aborigines in Eastern Taiwan (The Amis Eye Study).

PURPOSE: To determine the incidence of and risk factors associated with major ocular diseases in the elderly Amis population of Taiwan.

METHODS

This population-based cross-sectional study is the most current survey of ocular diseases among elderly Amis. The overall response rate was 61.2%, with 2316 participants screened. All ocular examinations were performed using a mobile ophthalmology setup staffed by an ophthalmologist with 30 years of experience.

RESULTS

The mean age of the participants was 71.65 years. Cataracts were the most common ocular disease (82.6%), followed by pterygium (44.1%), arteriosclerotic changes in retinal vessels (35.7%), hypertensive retinopathy (18.5 %), age-related macular degeneration (5.2%), optic neuropathy (4.6%), corneal opacity (4.6%), and diabetic retinopathy (3.3%). Glaucoma (1.0%) and high myopia (0.39%) were minor ocular diseases among elderly Amis. The prevalence of diabetes was 15.4% and that of hypertension was 40.0%.

CONCLUSIONS

Treatable diseases such as cataracts and pterygium were the most common ocular diseases in the Amis tribes. The relatively low incidence of glaucoma was likely due to the unique genetic background of this population.