Visual impairment and the major ocular conditions that lead to visual impairment continue to be a significant public health burden in middle-aged and older Americans. While several large, well-designed, population based ocular disease studies of US whites, blacks, and Latinos have been conducted, there is almost no information on the prevalence, risk factors, and genetic determinants in Asian Americans-one of the fastest growing racial groups in the US. There are known to be significant racial/ethnic variations in the burden of eye disease, and studies from East Asia suggest that Asians have a spectrum of eye diseases different from that of whites, African Americans, and Latinos. Because the largest Asian subgroup in the US is that of Chinese descent, in this proposed study we will determine cause-specific rates of blindness, visual impairment, and ocular disease (including cataract) in Chinese Americans aged 50 years and older. In addition, we will measure the degree to which biometric, inflammatory, and microvascular risk factors are associated with eye disease. Finally, we will examine genetic determinants of AMD and Glaucoma in this racial/ethnic group. All Chinese American residents living in the nine census tracts in Monterey Park, California, aged 50 years and older, will be invited to undergo an interview and a comprehensive eye examination, including measurement of visual acuity, visual field, intraocular pressure, hemoglobin A1c, blood glucose, and serum C-reactive protein;additional tests will include optical coherence tomography of the anterior chamber angle, ultrasonic measurement of the anterior chamber depth and lens thickness, and imaging of the fundus and optic nerve. The standardized study design and methodology will allow us to compare our data in Chinese Americans with previously obtained estimates in whites, African Americans, and Latinos. These data will improve our understanding of the biology of these age-related eye diseases. Our findings will help in planning preventive, rehabilitative, and eye care services. These findings are also likely to be of increasing public health importance, as the societal burden of age-related eye disease will likely increase with the aging of this rapidly growing segment of the US population.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Eye Institute (NEI)
Type
Cooperative Clinical Research--Cooperative Agreements (U10)
Project #
5U10EY017337-03
Application #
8053317
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZEY1-VSN (03))
Program Officer
Kurinij, Natalie
Project Start
2009-01-01
Project End
2013-12-31
Budget Start
2011-01-01
Budget End
2011-12-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2011
Total Cost
$2,378,724
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Southern California
Department
Ophthalmology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
072933393
City
Los Angeles
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
90089
Choudhury, Farzana; Meuer, Stacy M; Klein, Ronald et al. (2018) Prevalence and Characteristics of Myopic Degeneration in an Adult Chinese American Population: The Chinese American Eye Study. Am J Ophthalmol 187:34-42
Stram, Douglas A; Jiang, Xuejuan; Varma, Rohit et al. (2018) Factors Associated with Prevalent Diabetic Retinopathy in Chinese Americans: The Chinese American Eye Study. Ophthalmol Retina 2:96-105
Jiang, Xuejuan; Varma, Rohit; Torres, Mina et al. (2017) Self-reported Use of Eye Care Among Adult Chinese Americans: The Chinese American Eye Study. Am J Ophthalmol 176:183-193
Varma, Rohit; Torres, Mina; McKean-Cowdin, Roberta et al. (2017) Prevalence and Risk Factors for Refractive Error in Adult Chinese Americans: The Chinese American Eye Study. Am J Ophthalmol 175:201-212
Murakami, Yohko; Wang, Dandan; Burkemper, Bruce et al. (2016) A Population-Based Assessment of the Agreement Between Grading of Goniophotographic Images and Gonioscopy in the Chinese-American Eye Study (CHES). Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 57:4512-6
Varma, Rohit; Vajaranant, Thasarat S; Burkemper, Bruce et al. (2016) Visual Impairment and Blindness in Adults in the United States: Demographic and Geographic Variations From 2015 to 2050. JAMA Ophthalmol 134:802-9
Varma, Rohit; Sun, Jie; Torres, Mina et al. (2016) Prevalence of Lens Opacities in Adult Chinese Americans: The Chinese American Eye Study (CHES). Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 57:6692-6699
Varma, Rohit; Kim, Jeniffer S; Burkemper, Bruce S et al. (2016) Prevalence and Causes of Visual Impairment and Blindness in Chinese American Adults: The Chinese American Eye Study. JAMA Ophthalmol 134:785-93
Wessel, Jennifer; Chu, Audrey Y; Willems, Sara M et al. (2015) Low-frequency and rare exome chip variants associate with fasting glucose and type 2 diabetes susceptibility. Nat Commun 6:5897
Varma, Rohit; Hsu, Chunyi; Wang, Dandan et al. (2013) The chinese american eye study: design and methods. Ophthalmic Epidemiol 20:335-47

Showing the most recent 10 out of 11 publications