身体障害者更生相談所での視覚障害者の分析

Statistical review of visually handicapped persons in the City of Nagoya

　過去12年間に名古屋市身体障害者更生相談所を訪れた1,155名の視覚障害者を統計的に検索した。障害者手帳該当者は1,035名（89.7％）で，等級は1級から6級までほぼ均等に分布していた。50歳代が315名，60歳代が294例であり，両年代で全体の52.7％を占めた。視覚障害の原因は，強度近視，網膜色素変性症，角膜疾患，緑内障，白内障の順であった。20歳未満は先天性低視力，20歳から40歳では網膜色素変性症，40歳から70歳では強度近視，70歳代では緑内障，80歳代では白内障が首位を占めた。片眼視力が0.02以下の人の他眼の視力は，0.1未満が53.3％，0.1以上0.3が27.0％であった。片眼失明者で他眼視力が0.1以上0.5以下の場合，失明眼の原因は外傷が首位で28.4％であった。両眼重度視覚障害の主要原因は，強度近視，網膜色素変性症，緑内障の順であった。

We reviewed our record on the visually hand-icapped persons who visited Nagoya Counselling Center for the Physically Handicapped Persons during a 12-year period, 1976-1987. Out of 1,155 persons who sought advice at the Center, 1,035 were diagnosed as legally visually handicapped and were graded into grades according to the severity. There were 315 persons in the 6 th decade of life, followed by 294 persons in the 7 th decade. High myopia was the most frequent cause of handicaps, followed bypigmentary degeneration of the retina, corneal disease, glaucoma and cataract in the descending order. Congenital low vision due to microphthal-mos, nystagmus and amblyopia was the most com-mon in those under 20, pigmentary degeneration of the retina from 20 to 40, high myopia from 40 to 70, glaucoma from 70 to 80, and cataract in those over 80 years of age. In a group of unilaterally blind persons, the visual acuity in the fellow eye was 0.3 or less in 80 % of cases. The major cause of these low vision was ocular trauma.