Is Homelessness a Risk Factor for Eye Disease?

2005

<i>Background:</i> There is general agreement on the presence of a correlation between poverty and impaired health. However, only scarce data are available on whether this also applies to the incidence of eye disease. The present study was carried out to evaluate the prevalence of ocular disease in homeless people in Germany. <i>Methods:</i> 107 homeless people (97 male, 10 female; mean age 49 years, range 18–81 years) treated in specialised social service institutions were investigated prospectively according to a standardised ophthalmological screening protocol. This comprised visual acuity, assessment of pupillary light reaction, intra-ocular pressure, slit lamp e…