Introduction: Age and gender are among the risk factors influencing the disability.
Purpose: To study the connection between the demographic changes in Eastern Bulgaria and frequency of disability.
Material and methods: The blindness and low vision were evaluated retrospectively and calculated per population of 100 000. All information was obtained from the National Statistical Institute and the Specialized Visual Labor Expert Medical Commission - Varna registry for the period 2005-2012, filled in a specifically designed data collection form, and subsequently processed with SPSS 20.
Results and discussion: The data from the NSI shows an increase of the population above 60 years of age from 2009. The individuals up to 19 years of age are 4.90 %, and those of 20 years of age and above are 95.19 %. The primary disability (PD) starts to increase after the age of 60 and decreases to a small extent within the age group above 80 years. The majority of the patients are city residents. Regarding the gender indicator it has been demonstrated that contrary to monocular blindness where the male PD prevails, for binocular blindness above the age of 80 the PD women are more affected.
Conclusions: PD for individuals with visual conditions increases in correlation with general tendency of the population ageing.
Ministry of Labor and Social Policy. Actualization of the national strategy on the demographic development of the population of the Republic of Bulgaria (2012-2030). Sofia.
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