Classificational Distribution and Age Characteristics of Contact Lens Clinic Patients

The recorded information from 506 clinical contact lens patients, collected in a four‐year period, and comprised of 2.69% of the 18,770 general clinic patients, was set in nine categories, and counted. Single vision spherical category was the largest (87.94%), and the remainder were distributed in relatively small percentages. The mean age of 11.87 of the eight younger keratoconic patients may represent the average age of onset of keratoconus in the general population. These eight, plus four more advanced keratoconic patients, totaling 12, comprised 0.06% of the total general clinic patients. The findings are compatible with those mentioned in the ophthalmological texts, and thus may serve only as a rough estimate of the onset and occurrence of keratoconus in the general Midsouth population, since additional evidence indicated that keratoconus may begin as early as six years of age.