Changes in Incidences of Chronic and Traumatic Diseases before and after Registration as Visually Disabled

Abstract

Purpose: To analyze changes in the incidences of chronic and traumatic diseases before and after registration as visually disabled.Methods: The incidence and risk of chronic and traumatic diseases were compared between patients registered as visually disabled from 2005 to 2013 and a control group, selected through 1:1 propensity score matching for age, sex, premium quantile, and residential area distribution. Data from the National Health Insurance Service were used and the observation period was set from 2 years before to 5 years after the time of registration as visually disabled. The incidences (%) of chronic and traumatic diseases at the point of interest were determined as the mean values according to year of registration, and the risk was measured by conditional logistic regression analysis.Results: 131,434 visually disabled patients and the same number of non-visually impaired controls were included. The incidences of chronic disease and fall-related injury were higher in the visually disabled group before registration, but gradually decreased and became similar to the control group after registration. In addition, the risk of developing chronic diseases was higher in the visually disabled group until 2 years after registration, while the risk of fall-related injury remained consistently higher in the visually disabled group during the observation period. The incidence and risk of hip fracture in the visually disabled group increased gradually from approximately 1 year before registration and remained consistently higher than in the control group.Conclusions: People with visual disability have higher incidences of chronic diseases than do non-visually impaired people and are at greater risk of traumatic injuries, such as hip fractures or falls. There is a need to establish community infrastructure and expand welfare services for the prevention and early treatment of comorbidities, both for patients with registered visual disabilities and for patients who have not yet registered.