Abstract

Introduction
Inflammatory and infectious eye diseases (IIMED) are an important cause of visual impairment in people >65 years of age. Hypertension (HTN) and diabetes mellitus (DM) are common comorbidities in this age group. What impact does HTN and DM have on (IIMED) in this age group is not known. Our study examines the effect of HTN and DM on (IIMED) using Medicare data.
Methods:
We have used Medicare data through the vision and eye health surveillance system (VEHSS). Medicare is a federally funded insurance program in the United States which primarily enrolls individuals > 65 years. VEHSS uses ICD 9 and 10 codes to identify eye diseases and organizes them into two levels: category and subgroup. Each ICD code is assigned to one subgroup and subgroups are combined to form a category. We collected data on age, gender, race, and presence of IIMED, HTN, and DM from 2014-2019. We identified prevalence of IIMED in the presence of HTN and DM, stratifying by gender and race.
Results:
Medicare beneficiaries with DM and HTN have higher prevalence of IIMED for males and female and for all races from 2014-2019. Prevalence of IIMED is higher in patients with HTN as compared to DM for males and females and for all races. Prevalence of IIMED is highest in Asians, followed by Hispanics and is higher in females. Prevalence has increased from 2014-2019 for males and females and for all the races except for Asians where the prevalence has remained stable.
Conclusion:
Prevalence of inflammatory and infectious eye diseases is higher in Medicare patients with HTN and DM. Further research would provide information on reasons behind these findings.