Community screening for visual impairment in the elderly (Cochrane Review)

A substantive amendment to this systematic review was last made on 29 July 1998. Cochrane reviews are regularly checked and updated if necessary.

Background: While the aims of multicomponent screening of older people are broad, any benefit arising from the inclusion of a vision component in the assessment will necessarily be dependent on improved vision.

Objectives: The objective of this review is to assess the effects on vision of mass screening of older people for visual impairment.

Search strategy: We searched the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register - CENTRAL/CCTR, which contains the Cochrane Eyes and Vision Group trials register (Cochrane Library Issue 2 2002), MEDLINE (1966 to March 2002), EMBASE (1980 to February 2002), SciSearch and reference lists of relevant trial reports and review articles. We contacted investigators to identify additional published and unpublished trials.

Selection criteria: We included randomised trials of visual or multicomponent screening for vision impairment in people aged 65 or over in a community setting.

Data collection and analysis: Both reviewers independently extracted data and assessed trial quality.

Main results: Visual outcome data were available for 3494 people in five trials of multicomponent assessment. Length of follow up ranged from two to four years. All the trials used self-reported measures for visual impairment, both as screening tools and as outcome measures. In four of the trials people reporting visual problems were referred to either the eye services or to a physician. In one trial people reporting visual problems received information about resources in the community designed to assist those with poor vision.The proportions of participants in the intervention and control groups who reported visual problems at the time of outcome assessment were 0.26 and 0.23 respectively (relative risk for visual impairment 1.03, 95% confidence interval 0.92 to 1.15).

Reviewers' conclusions: There is no evidence that community-based screening of asymptomatic older people results in improvements in vision.

Citation: Smeeth L, Iliffe S. Community screening for visual impairment in the elderly (Cochrane Review). In: The Cochrane Library, Issue 3, 2003. Oxford: Update Software.

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This is an abstract of a regularly updated, systematic review prepared and maintained by the Cochrane Collaboration. The full text of the review is available in The Cochrane Library (ISSN 1464-780X).

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