Prevalence, awareness and treatment rates of eye diseases: Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Woo Gyeong-Ji, Kim Yoonjung, Oh Kyung-Won
Division of Health and Nutrition Survey, Center for Disease Prevention, KCDC

Since 1998, the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) has been assessing the health and nutritional status of Koreans, including ocular health conditions. The data on eye disease examinations from KNHANES (2008-2017) was used to determine the prevalence rates of refractive errors, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy (DR) and glaucoma. The analysis demonstrated that the prevalence of myopia had been on the rise, from 34.9% in 2008 to 49.4% in 2017. The prevalence of AMD and glaucoma showed an upward patterns as age increased. The awareness rates of AMD and glaucoma were 3.5% and 25.8%, which were lower than other chronic diseases, whereas the treatment rates of AMD and glaucoma were 1.4% and 20.3%, respectively. The fundus examination rate among patients with diabetics was 23.5%.

Keywords: Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), Prevalence, Diabetic retinopathy, Glaucoma, Macular degeneration, Eye examination, Eye diseases