SUMMARY
The eye disorders and need for ophthalmological procedures due to pathological conditions were studied among 487 elderly people living in 10 nursing homes in-Curitiba, Brazil. The majority of the population studied were over 61 years old (67.1%). Previous ocular surgery was reported by 10.5% of the population and 70.6% of these were cataract extractions. Only 29.6% had 20/40 visual acuity or better, and 21.3% were found to be legally blind. The prevalence of age related macular degeneration was 25.87% of the individuals examined. The prevalence of senile cataract was 38.40% of the individuals. The authors concluded that lack of education was the main factor contributing for such a high amount of reversible legal blindness.