Blindness incidence in Germany - A population-based study from Württemberg-Hohenzollern

Krumpaszky, H. G.
Lüdtke, R.
Mickler, A.
Klauss, V.
Selbmann, H. K.

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Publication date

January 1999

DOI

10.1159/000027415

Publisher

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

Language

English

Abstract

Few data on the incidence of blindness in Germany are available. We analysed causes of legal blindness for the region Württemberg-Hohenzollern (population 5.5 million) in order to help fill in this gap. Material and Methods: Population-based investigation on the incidence of legal blindness (visual acuity <1/50) based on materials from the social servies. Age-dependent blindness incidences were modelled via logistic regression models. Results: 647 blind persons were newly registered in 1994 (blindness incidence 11.6/100,000). The blindness incidence is moderate in infants (4.5/100,000) and decreases further during childhood. At the age of 20 years, the incidence again rises to the former level and remains relatively constant. After the age ...