Clinical Analysis of 150 Patients with Visual Disability

Hwang, Jeong Min

Abstract

Epidemiological data on visual disabilities in Korea are rare. In order to partly understand the situation of visual disability in Korea, the authore performed a retrospective study on the major causes and the degree of visual disability of patients who got the authorized document of vusual disability between January, 1993 to June, 1996. Of the 150 patients with availble clinical data, men were more than women(75.3%). The patients in their forties were most common(45 patients, 30.3%). First degree and fourth degree visual disability(4/9) were most common(43.2%, 49.1%) until 1995 and from 1996, respectivelly. Of the 300 eyes, 257 eyes were diagnosed to have visual problems. Optic neuropathy (52 eyes, 20.2%), trauma(31 eyes, 12.1%), retinitis pigmentosa(29 eyes, 11.3%), and corneal opacity (23 eyes, 8.9%) were the common causes of visual disability. These results might be helpful for partly understanding the visual disability in Korea.