[Prevalence of ocular diseases in a population of elderly residents of the city of Veranópolis, Brazil].

PURPOSE To evaluate the prevalence of diseases of the eye in a population aged 80 years and above in the city of Veranópolis, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. METHODS 187 elderly people were submitted to ophthalmologic tests including external inspection, ocular motility examination, visual acuity determination for near and far distance, applanation tonometry, biomicroscopy, cycloplegia, direct fundus examination and static skiascopy. RESULTS The most prevalent disease was presbyopia in 173 (92.5%) patients, cataract in 160 (85.6%), age-related ectropion in 130 (69.5%), hypermetropia in 130 (69.5%) and age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) in 59 (31.5%) patients. 85 (45.4%) patients presented marked low vision whose main causes were cataract in 46 (54.1%) and refractive error in 16 (18.9%) of the studied population. The most prevalent complaint was due to presence of age-related ectropion. CONCLUSIONS Common diseases as cataract and retractive error are still a challenge to ophthalmologists because these diseases remain main causes of visual deficit in old age resulting in life quality losses.