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ABSTRACT.Purpose: To study refractive state and visual acuity in citizens of Reykjavik 50 years and older. Methods: 1700 persons were randomly selected from the national population census. 1379 could be located and qualified whereof 1045 participated. Evaluation of refraction was performed using Nidek ARK 900 autorefracto-keratometer. Visual acuity was tested on a Snellen chart. Results: The prevalence of hypermetropia increases with age by 0.3 D in five years. The prevalence of ''against the rule'' astigmatism increased on average 5.3% and oblique 3.9% in five years. Analysis of corneal astigmatism measured by keratometer shows an ''against the rule'' change with age. Conclusions: Hypermetropia increases by age. The prevalence of astigmatism increases and the axis turns to ''against the rule''. The changes in total astigmatism and corneal astigmatism is almost parallel which might indicate that the ''against the rule'' change is related to changes in the cornea.

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ABSTRACT.Purpose: To provide an overview of some of the current activities in eye research in the Nordic countries. Methods: The presentations at the biannual Nordic Congress of Ophthalmology, held in Tampere, Finland in 2002, were reviewed and the contributions found most noteworthy are included in this article along with a limited discussion of each research field. However, space requirements prevented the inclusion of many interesting scientific contributions. Results: Important contributions in various subfields of eye research and ophthalmology are reviewed. These include cornea, cataract, paediatric ophthalmology, glaucoma, diabetic eye disease, age-related macular degeneration, physiology and pharmacology and oncology. Conclusions: Eye research is very active in the Nordic countries and significant contributions are being made to ophthalmology in several fields on a world scale. We hope to continue to review Nordic contributions to eye research after each Nordic Congress of Ophthalmology and plan to make the reviews more systematic and comprehensive in the future.