Keratoconus in the Medicare population.
Published
Journal Article
PURPOSE: To investigate the population-based prevalence of keratoconus in US individuals aged 65 years and older. DESIGN: Multiyear retrospective cross-sectional claims analysis. METHODS: Fee-for-service claims from a 5% national sample of Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years and older were reviewed. Claims records were queried on an annual basis for the years 1999 through 2003 for ICD-9 codes specific to keratoconus. The number of beneficiaries with keratoconus-related claims was counted for each calendar year. RESULTS: The number of beneficiaries receiving care for keratoconus rose steadily from 15.7/100,000 beneficiaries in 1999 to 18.5/100,000 in 2003, averaging 17.5/100,000 across the 5 years of the study. Keratoconus rates declined with increasing age but did not differ by gender. Keratoconus care was more prevalent in whites than in other races. CONCLUSIONS: Keratoconus is an uncommon disease in the Medicare population. Longitudinal analysis of Medicare claims data may provide a useful tool for monitoring uncommon diseases, such as keratoconus, in the elderly.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Reeves, SW; Ellwein, LB; Kim, T; Constantine, R; Lee, PP
Published Date
- January 2009
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 28 / 1
Start / End Page
- 40 - 42
PubMed ID
- 19092403
Pubmed Central ID
- 19092403
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1536-4798
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1097/ICO.0b013e3181839b06
Language
- eng
Conference Location
- United States