Frequency of ophthalmic assessments among elderly whites and African Americans with eye disease and impact on visual...

To study the difference in patterns of utilization of eye-care services among white and African American senior citizens with eye disease and its impact on visual function.

This study involved cross-sectional assessments of visual function using the Activities of Daily Vision Scale (ADVS), as well as retrospective self-recall of history of eye disease and frequency of ophthalmic assessments. Participants included 99 consecutive elderly patients with history of eye disease who were attending the outpatient medical clinics at Nassau University Medical Center, a community teaching hospital in Long Island, New York.

White Americans constituted 52% of the study sample and African Americans constituted the remaining 48%. African American subjects were less likely than whites to report visiting an eye specialist over the previous 5 years (69% versus 88%, P < 0.05). African American subjects who reported undergoing ophthalmic assessments over the past 5 years showed a trend of having higher ADVS scores (indicating better visual function) compared with those who did not report such history (86 +/- 12 versus 79 +/- 15, P = 0.098). On the other hand, reporting such history had no apparent relation to the ADVS scores in whites.

African American elderly ambulatory medical patients with eye disease were less likely than their white counterparts to report use of eye-care services. The use of eye-care services in African American but not white subjects was linked to better visual function as assessed by the ADVS.