Affiliation:
1. Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology Tampere University Tampere Finland
2. Finnish Register of Visual Impairment Finnish Federation of the Visually Impaired Helsinki Finland
3. Department of Public Health and Welfare Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare Helsinki Finland
4. Tays Eye Center Tampere University Hospital Tampere Finland
Abstract
AbstractPurposeTo evaluate time trends in distance and near vision at the national and regional levels during 2000–2017 in Finland.MethodsWe used three cross‐sectional, nationwide health examination surveys representing the Finnish adult population aged 30 years or older in 2000, 2011 and 2017. Bilateral, habitual distance and near visual acuity (VA) were measured in all three surveys.ResultsThe prevalence of good distance vision (VA ≥ 1.0) increased from 76.7% to 81.3% during 2000–2017 while the prevalence of weak or worse distance vision (VA ≤ 0.5) decreased from 7.6% to 3.7%. The improvements were largest among those aged 85 years and older: the prevalence of distance VA ≤ 0.5 decreased from 71.8% to 28.3%. Near vision showed improvement to a lesser extent in the total population; nevertheless, among those aged 85 years and older the prevalence of weak or worse near vision (VA ≤ 0.5) decreased from 62.3% to 27.1%. A similar positive time trend was observed in all main regions of Finland, and differences between urban and rural regions were small.ConclusionDuring the past two decades, the overall vision level has improved among the adult population. This is explained mostly by a positive shift from lower to higher vision levels among older age groups, indicating that people live longer with good or adequate vision. This positive trend showed remarkable similarity throughout different regions in Finland, highlighting the importance of equal and accessible eye care throughout the country.
Subject
Ophthalmology,General Medicine