Prevalence of major eye diseases among US Civil War veterans, 1890-1910.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the prevalence of major eye diseases and low vision or blindness in a national sample of male US Union Army veterans from 1890 to 1910 and to compare these prevalence rates with contemporary rates for the same diseases and visual status. DESIGN: Longitudinal histories of 16,022 white Union Army veterans receiving disability pensions from 1890 to 1910 were developed from pension board examination records. Prevalence rates of trachoma, corneal opacities, cataract, diseases of the retina and optic nerve, and low vision or blindness were calculated in 1895 and 1910. Changes in prevalence by age were examined. RESULTS: By 1910, 11.9% of veterans had low vision or were blind in both eyes. Prevalence of cataract increased with age, resulting in 13.1% of veterans having had cataract in one or both eyes. Rates of trachoma were 3.2% in 1895 and 4.8% in 1910. Rates of corneal opacity were 3.0% and 5.1%, respectively. Glaucoma was rarely diagnosed from 1890 to 1910, but diseases of the optic nerve were reported in 2.0% of veterans in 1895 and 3.6% in 1910. CONCLUSIONS: This study documents substantial reductions in the prevalence of low vision or blindness and changes in the composition of eye diseases from an era in which there were few effective therapies for eye diseases to the present.

Features of the development of a welfare system for visually disabled people in Denmark.

PURPOSE: To describe the development of a formal system of welfare for blind and partially sighted people in Denmark. METHODS: The principal laws in Denmark relating to a formal system of welfare for blind and partially sighted people are noted and commented on. No such collection of laws has been found in the literature. The history of aid to visually disabled people in Denmark is described, as are the Danish classifications of visual impairment. DEVELOPMENT: Formalized welfare for blind and partially sighted people was started in Denmark in 1811, as a private initiative by the Kjaede Order. Later, the Danish state took over responsibility, and in 1858 the Royal Danish Institute for the Blind was established. Since then a series of laws concerning welfare for blind and partially sighted people have been issued in accordance with economic and social development in Denmark. In 1858 the Braille writing system for blind people was introduced. The Danish Association of the Blind was founded in 1911 and has profoundly influenced subsequent legislation. During the last 10 years, several visual centres have been established. Since 1968 prevention of blindness has also played a prominent role in Denmark. CONCLUSION: Great steps have been taken towards improving the welfare of blind and partially sighted people. However, being blind is still very difficult. Modern technologies and hectic lifestyles have created new problems for blind people. The obligations of the Danish state towards visually disabled people have, therefore, increased in recent years.