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Rural area has higher AMD prevalence, study finds
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People living in the agricultural area of Kansas had a disproportionately high prevalence of macular disease when compared with the state as a whole, a study found.
Carol Ann Holcomb, PhD, CHES, and Mu-Chaun Lin, PhD, MPH, of Kansas State University used Medicare Part B claims to estimate the prevalence of macular degeneration and other macular diseases at the county and area levels within the state.
Among 335,132 beneficiaries 64 years old or older, 17,888 unduplicated Medicare claims were identified. Compared with the state prevalence of 5.64%, the researchers found the state’s central agricultural area had a disproportionately high macular disease prevalence rate.
The study is published in the January issue of American Journal of Public Health.