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. 2012 Jul;26(7):933-6.
doi: 10.1038/eye.2012.61. Epub 2012 Apr 13.

Visual impairment certification secondary to ARMD in Leeds, 2005-2010: is the incidence falling?

E Rostron  1 , M McKibbin
Affiliations

Visual impairment certification secondary to ARMD in Leeds, 2005-2010: is the incidence falling?

E Rostron et al. Eye (Lond). 2012 Jul.

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate trends in visual impairment certification due to age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) in the Leeds metropolitan area between 2005 and 2010.

Methods: In this retrospective study, the primary causes of visual impairment certification in the Leeds metropolitan area between 2005 and 2010 were reviewed. ARMD was considered to be the cause of certification when recorded as the primary factor contributing to visual impairment in one or both eyes. The incidence of visual impairment certification due to ARMD was calculated using population estimates from the Office of National Statistics.

Results: ARMD was the primary cause of visual impairment certification in all study years, accounting for 58.7 and 50.8% of certifications in 2005 and 2010, respectively. For the same period, the incidence of certification due to ARMD fell from 364 to 248 per million population per year. This was largely the result of a fall in the incidence of visual impairment certification due to neovascular ARMD from 225 to 137 per million population per year, beginning in 2008 after the introduction of a local commissioning policy on the use of intra-vitreal ranibizumab.

Conclusion: The incidence of visual impairment certification due to ARMD in the Leeds metropolitan area appears to be falling. This is largely the result of a decrease in certification secondary to neovascular ARMD. This represents a change in the previously described trend for ARMD visual impairment certification.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Incidence of sight impairment certifications per million population for the Metropolitan area of Leeds due to total ARMD, NVARMD, and GA.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

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