| Summary: | With an aging population, prevalence of visual impairment (VI) is expected to
increase as well. A retrospective study was conducted involving the files of older
adult patients aged 60 years and above from the Primary Eye Care (PEC) Optometry
Clinic Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). This study was aimed to determine
the prevalence and causes of VI among older adults. This retrospective study was
conducted by reviewing files of older adult patients aged 60 years and above who
had visited PEC Optometry Clinic UKM from 2009 to 2019. Socio-demographic,
health status, status of visual acuity (VA), refractive error, prevalence and causes
of VI before and after refractive correction were analysed by using descriptive
statistic. Habitual distance VA was measured monocularly using the Snellen chart
and recorded in decimal unit. The mean habitual distance VA in the better eye was
0.72+0.31, ranging from 0.41 to 1.03 while the mean VA after subjective refraction
in the better eye was 0.88+0.28 which ranging from 0.60 to 1.16. The prevalence
of VI based on habitual VA were 16.0%. The main cause of VI based on habitual
VA was cataract (53.4%). The refractive status after subjective refraction showed
highest percentage of hyperopia (41.9%), followed by emmetropia (32.4%) and
myopia (25.7%). The findings of this study emphasise the importance of increased
patient education and further expansion of optometric services are required to
reduce avoidable blindness.
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