Abstract
To assess prevalence of mild vision impairment (MVI; best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) < 6/12 to 6/18 in the better eye), moderate-to-severe vision impairment (MSVI; BCVA < 6/18 but ≥ 3/60) and blindness (BCVA < 3/60) in a local population in Russia, we conducted the population-based Ural Eye and Medical Study. Out of 7,328 eligible individuals aged 40 + years, 5,899 (80.5%) individuals participated. MVI was present in 184 (3.1%; 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.7, 3.6) individuals, MSVI in 182 (3.1%; 95% CI 2.7, 3.5) individuals, and 11 individuals (0.19%; 95% CI 0.008, 0.30) were blind. Causes for MSVI were cataract (n = 109; 59.9%), late stage of age-related macular degeneration (n = 14; 7.7%; geographic atrophy and neovascular AMD in 7 (3.8%) individuals) each), myopic maculopathy (n = 11; 6.0%), glaucoma (n = 9; 4.9%), non-glaucomatous optic nerve damage (n = 5; 2.7%), and diabetic retinopathy (n = 4; 2.2%). Causes for blindness were cataract (n = 3; 27.3%), myopic maculopathy (n = 2; 18.2%), retinal dystrophies (n = 2; 18.2%), glaucoma (n = 1; 9.1%), and corneal scars (n = 1; 9.1%). Higher prevalence of MSVI/blindness was associated with age (P < 0.001; odds ratio (OR)1.10; 95% CI 1.08, 1.12), male gender (P < 0.001; OR 2.32; 95% CI 1.47, 3.66), educational level (P < 0.001; OR 0.83; 95% CI 0.76,0.92), manual grip force (P < 0.001; OR 0.94; 95% CI 0.92, 0.96), diabetes prevalence (P = 0.006; OR 1.67; 95% CI 1.08, 2.56) and axial length (P < 0.001; OR 1.43; 95% CI 1.26,1.62). In this population from Bashkortostan/Russia, prevalence of MVI, MSVI and blindness was 3.1%, 3.1% and 0.19%, respectively. Cataract was the most frequent cause of reversible vision impairment, while AMD, myopic maculopathy and glaucoma were the most common reasons for irreversible vision impairment.
Highlights
Vision impairment and blindness are of utmost importance for the quality of life for the individual and for public health in general[1,2]
Out of 5,899 individuals primarily participating in the Ural Eye and Medical Study, the present investigation included 5,893 (99.9%) individuals (3,315 (56.3%) women) with assessment of visual acuity, with 3,399 participants (57.7%) living in the rural region and 2,494 (42.3%) individuals in the urban region
Ethnically mixed, study population from Bashkortostan/Russia, the prevalence of mild vision impairment (MVI), moderate to severe vision impairment (MSVI), blindness, as based on the measured of best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), was 3.1%, 3.1% and 0.19%, respectively
Summary
Vision impairment and blindness are of utmost importance for the quality of life for the individual and for public health in general[1,2]. Recent global and regional meta-analyses summarizing available data on visual impairment and blindness have revealed that out of 7.33 billion people living in 2015, approximately 36.0 million (80% Uncertainty interval (UI): 12.9–65.4 million; 55% female) individuals globally were blind, 216.6 million (80% UI: 98.5–359.1 million) individuals were moderately to severely vision impaired, and 188.5 million individuals (80% UI: 64.5–350.2 million; 54% female) were mildly vison impaired[3,4]. These meta-analyses showed that for Russia comprehensive data on vision impairment and blindness have only scarcely been available so far, Russia is by area the largest, and by population one of the largest, countries worldwide[5,6]. Major eye disorders and general medical diseases such as arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease[7,8,9]
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