This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on Web of Science (7)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Topic Collections  • Diabetic Retinopathy  • Glaucoma  • Macular Degeneration  • Alert me on articles by topic  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Frank A. Sloan, PhD; Derek S. Brown, MA; Emily S. Carlisle, MA; Jan Ostermann, PhD; Paul P. Lee, MD, JD

Arch Ophthalmol. 2003;121:1462-1468.

Objective  To estimate incidence rates of the 3 major chronic eye diseases—diabetic retinopathy (DR), glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration (ARMD)—by using longitudinal claims data from Medicare.

Methods  Longitudinal cases were ascertained by using a national probability sample of Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years and older in 1991 who initially had none of the eye diseases documented. After adjusting for death and enrollment in a health maintenance organization, claims filed by optometrists or ophthalmologists with an International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification code for all forms of DR, glaucoma, and ARMD were used to indicate diagnosis.

Results  Annual incidence rates for the 3 conditions after the first year of observation ranged from 14.3% to 17.7% (higher earlier) across an 8-year longitudinal follow-up. Incidence rates among those with diabetes mellitus for any form of DR varied between 3.8% and 6.5%, while those for glaucoma varied between 4.6% and 7.8% and those for ARMD varied between 7.5% and 9.3%.

Conclusions  Longitudinal claims data after the first year provide relatively stable estimates of incidence rates on an annual basis. These estimates are comparable with those of the few population-based studies available.

From the Department of Economics (Dr Sloan, Mr Brown, and Ms Carlisle); Center for Health Policy, Law, and Management (Drs Sloan and Ostermann); and Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine (Dr Lee), Duke University, Durham, NC. The authors have no relevant financial interest in this article.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Longitudinal Incidence of Adverse Outcomes of Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Wysong et al.
Arch Ophthalmol 2009;127:320-327.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Identification of Patients With Diabetic Macular Edema From Claims Data: A Validation Study
Bearelly et al.
Arch Ophthalmol 2008;126:986-989.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Incidence and Prevalence of Heart Failure in Elderly Persons, 1994-2003
Curtis et al.
Arch Intern Med 2008;168:418-424.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Estimating the Rate of Progressive Visual Field Damage in Those with Open-Angle Glaucoma, from Cross-Sectional Data
Broman et al.
IOVS 2008;49:66-76.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

The Economic Burden of Major Adult Visual Disorders in the United States
Rein et al.
Arch Ophthalmol 2006;124:1754-1760.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Need for Eye Care Among Older Adults With Diabetes Mellitus in Fee-for-Service and Managed Medicare
Brown et al.
Arch Ophthalmol 2005;123:669-675.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT