Observational studyOphthalmology2023
United States Population Disparities in Ophthalmic Care: Blindness and Visual Impairment in the IRIS® Registry (Intelligent Research in Sight).
Observational study in Ophthalmology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Visual Impairment and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Hispanic and Latino Adults.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Linking multicenter electronic health records with socioeconomic data to examine receipt of standard versus premium intraocular lenses.AJO international · 2026Article
- Unseen Insights: An AI-Powered Exploration of Secure Patient Messages in Ophthalmology.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Burden of Pseudoexfoliation and Pigmentary Glaucoma among American Indian or Alaska Native Patients.Ophthalmology science · 2026Article
- Epidemiology and Associated Ocular Conditions of Visual Impairment in the United States: A Decade of Data from TriNetX US Network.Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Article
- Assessing variation in US payer coverage of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapies for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and diabetic macular edema.Journal of managed care & specialty pharmacy · 2025Article
- Transforming retinal disease management through diabetes care.Journal of managed care & specialty pharmacy · 2025Article
- Loss to Follow-up and Risk of Incident Blindness among Patients with Glaucoma in the IRIS® Registry.Ophthalmology. GlaucomaArticle
- Big data and electronic health records for glaucoma research.Taiwan journal of ophthalmologyReview
- Vision Loss and Blindness in the United States: An Age-Adjusted Comparison by Sex and Associated Disease Category.Ophthalmology scienceArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
purposeTo evaluate associations of patient characteristics with United States eye care use and likelihood of blindness.
designRetrospective observational study.
participantsPatients (19 546 016) with 2018 visual acuity (VA) records in the American Academy of Ophthalmology's IRIS® Registry (Intelligent Research in Sight).
methodsLegal blindness (20/200 or worse) and visual impairment (VI; worse than 20/40) were identified from corrected distance acuity in the better-seeing eye and stratified by patient characteristics. Multivariable logistic regressions evaluated associations with blindness and VI. Blindness was mapped by state and compared with population characteristics. Eye care use was analyzed by comparing population demographics with United States Census estimates and proportional demographic representation among blind patients versus a nationally representative US population sample (National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey [NHANES]).
main outcome measuresPrevalence and odds ratios for VI and blindness; proportional representation in the IRIS® Registry, Census, and NHANES by patient demographics.
resultsVisual impairment was present in 6.98% (n = 1 364 935) and blindness in 0.98% (n = 190 817) of IRIS patients. Adjusted odds of blindness were highest among patients ≥ 85 years old (odds ratio [OR], 11.85; 95% confidence interval [CI], 10.33-13.59 vs. those 0-17 years old). Blindness also was associated positively with rural location and Medicaid, Medicare, or no insurance vs. commercial insurance. Hispanic (OR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.46-1.74) and Black (OR, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.63-1.84) patients showed a higher odds of blindness versus White non-Hispanic patients. Proportional representation in IRIS Registry relative to the Census was higher for White than Hispanic (2- to 4-fold) or Black (11%-85%) patients (P < 0.001). Blindness overall was less prevalent in NHANES than IRIS Registry; however, prevalence in adults aged 60+ was lowest among Black participants in the NHANES (0.54%) and second highest among comparable Black adults in IRIS (1.57%).
conclusionsLegal blindness from low VA was present in 0.98% of IRIS patients and associated with rural location, public or no insurance, and older age. Compared with US Census estimates, minorities may be underrepresented among ophthalmology patients, and compared with NHANES population estimates, Black individuals may be overrepresented among blind IRIS Registry patients. These findings provide a snapshot of US ophthalmic care and highlight the need for initiatives to address disparities in use and blindness. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE(S): Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found in the Footnotes and Disclosures at the end of this article.
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