Absolute and relative morbidity burdens attributable to ocular and vision-related conditions, active component, U.S....

The current report used an ocular and vision disease classification system and several healthcare burden measures to quantify the impacts of various ocular and vision-related illnesses and injuries among active component service members of the U.S. Armed Forces during 2018. More service members received care for refractive error and related disorders than any other ocular and vision-related major category; this category accounted for slightly more than one-half (51.1%) of all ocular and vision-related medical encounters. Conjunctival disorders accounted for the next highest percentage of total medical encounters (13.3%) followed by corneal disorders (7.5%). The 3 specific ocular and vision-related conditions that accounted for the most medical encounters (i.e., myopia, astigmatism, and acute conjunctivitis) accounted for almost one-half (47.7%) of all ocular and vision-related medical encounters overall. In general, the conditions that accounted for the most medical encounters were predominantly refractive error and related disorders and conjunctival disorders. More active component service members received medical care for myopia than for any other specific condition. Optic nerve conditions and visual discomfort/disturbances accounted for more than onequarter (30.1%) of all ocular and vision-related hospital bed days.