Prevalence of undiagnosed eye/vision disorders in a VA hospital.

A study population of one hundred and one subjects, chosen according to recommended epidemiologic procedures to assure an accurate representation of the total Birmingham veteran population, were given complete optometric examinations. The primary criterion for inclusion in the study was a need for coming to the hospital on the interview day for any health problem other than visual or ocular. The results of the statistical analysis showed agreement between the Birmingham veteran population and the general population with regard to vision and ocular disorders. Presbyopia was found to be the most prevalent vision disorder, and fifty-four per cent of the study population needed either prescription lenses for the first time or a significant change in their present spectacles for maximum visual acuity. When this figure is projected nationally, fifty-four percent of the fourteen million outpatients treated last year in VA medical care facilities would represent 7,616,000 veterans in need of vision care services annually. In fact, since the sample average age was 46, and the average age for veterans nationally is 55, the figure for those with uncorrected vision defects may be even higher.