Subjective Visual Function of Seaman

Abstract

The average age of seaman such as a captain, navigation officer or pilot, is getting higher in Japan. Generally, aging affects our physical function, and it is considered that visual function is also affected by aging. Visual function is the most important factor for watchkeeping at sea, the visual function of seaman, however, is not checked regularly and periodically. We collected ninety-seven data of subjective visual function of seamen by questionnaire to investigate the situation of vision. The results showed that most seamen have some visual function problems, which are predicted by ophthalmological or basic vision study. The averaged number of subjective symptoms was higher in the group of 40s or higher than the group of 20s and 30s, especially, pesbyopia (farsightedness due to aging), visual form perception, contrast sensitivity, and color perception were affected by aging.