BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The risk of high blood pressure increases to a great extend with increasing age which, in turn, raises the risk of retinopathy. Given the high prevalence of ophthalmic complications in the advanced ages, there is a growing need for public health and medical services. This study aims to determine the frequency of hypertensive retinopathy in the elderly, in Amirkola town.

METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed on all patients aged 60 or above, residing in Amirkola town, Iran. All the patients were referred to the eye clinic of Ayatollah Rouhani Hospital during 2011-2012. Comprehensive ophthalmic examinations were performed by an ophthalmologist. Based on the obtained definitive evidence and photographic findings, various degrees of hypertensive retinopathy in one or both eyes were detected and assessed.

FINDINGS: Among the 505 studied patients, 65 patients (12.9%) were suffering from hypertensive retinopathy. About 10 (15.4%) patients were suffering from high blood pressure for more than ten years. Moreover, 55 patients (84.6%) had hypertension for less than 10 years (p<0.0001). A total of 18 patients (27.7%) had history of hyperlipidemia, while 47 patients (72.3%) had no history of it (p=0.005).

CONCLUSION: The obtained results of our study indicated that the frequency of hypertensive retinopathy in the elderly patients was high. Therefore, monitoring blood pressure and serum lipids on a regular basis in the elderly is highly recommended.