Research
Characteristics of Refractive Errors in a Population of Adults in the Central Region of Poland
The objective of this study is to investigate the distribution of refractive errors and their characteristics in older adults from a Polish population.
The study design was a cross-sectional study. A total of 1107 men and women were interviewed and underwent detailed ophthalmic examinations, 998 subjects underwent refraction.
Among those who were refracted the distribution of myopia and hyperopia was 24.1% and 37.5% respectively.
Myopia decreased from 28.7% in subjects aged 35–59 years to 19.3% in those aged 60 years or older and hyperopia increased from 21.8% at 35–59 years of age to 53.3% in subjects aged ≥60 years.
Multiple regression analysis showed decreasing age, female gender and presence of cataract were independent risk factors associated with myopia.
The distribution of refractive errors found in this study is similar to those reported in other Caucasian populations and differs from Asian populations.
Myopia was positively associated with younger age, female gender and presence of cataract.