Blind Population of Massachusetts: Trends 1966—1977

Abstract

An analysis of the annual reports of the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind from 1966 to 1975 and examination of numbers registered with the Commission from 1976 and 1977 revealed a 69 percent increase in the registered population for these 12 years. From 1966 to 1972 the rate of increase was about 3 percent per year, and from 1972 has been about 7 percent per year. Most of the increase results from growth in the population of people age 75 and older. The main cause of blindness has become macular and retinal degeneration and an increasing number of blind people suffer from multiple affections.