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

  • Clinical Investigation
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Abstract

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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan

    Tzu-Lun Huang, Sheng-Yao Hsu, Rong-Kung Tsai & Min-Muh Sheu

  2. Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan

    Sheng-Yao Hsu, Rong-Kung Tsai & Min-Muh Sheu

  3. Department of Ophthalmology, Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital, Tzu Chi University, 707, Section 3, Chung-Yang Road, Hualien, 97002, Taiwan

    Min-Muh Sheu

Authors
  1. Tzu-Lun Huang
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  2. Sheng-Yao Hsu
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  4. Min-Muh Sheu
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Correspondence to Min-Muh Sheu.

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Huang, TL., Hsu, SY., Tsai, RK. et al. Etiology of ocular diseases in elderly Amis aborigines in Eastern Taiwan (The Amis Eye Study). Jpn J Ophthalmol 54, 266–271 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10384-010-0817-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10384-010-0817-x

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