Ann Optom Contact Lens.  2024 Dec;23(4):151-156. 10.52725/aocl.2024.23.4.151.

Patient Awareness of Wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Need for Regular Fundal Examinations

• Jeon W
• Lee JH
• Ahn J
• Choung HK
• Shin JY

• KMID: 2562694
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.52725/aocl.2024.23.4.151

Abstract

Purpose
To evaluate degree of insight, accessibility to medical care, and availability of regular ocular screening examinations before diagnosis for Korean patients with wet age-related macular degeneration.
Methods
Data were collected from 95 patients by questionnaire and analyzed at Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center.
Results
Although 80.0% of the patients considered themselves old, only 2.1% thought they were susceptible to wet age-related macular degeneration. Of the overall patients, 48.4% thought their disease was serious despite treatment with intravitreal injections. A majority (71.6%) thought that medical care was easily accessible, 67.4% answered that hospitals were located close by, and 90.5% answered that it was easy to make appointments and they had time to visit the hospital. However, only 15.8% answered that they had undergone regular ocular examinations before being diagnosed with wet age-related macular degeneration.
Conclusions
Although most patients believed that they had easy access to medical care, only 15.8% underwent regular ocular examinations. Therefore, regular ocular examinations, including fundal examinations, are required in national health screening programs. It is also important to raise public awareness of wet age-related macular degeneration by educating the general population.

Keyword

Fundus screening examination; Wet age-related macular degeneration