Abstract
Purpose:To determine the prevalence and causes of blindness and visual impairment (VI) in Yazd, central Iran.Methods:This population-based, cross-sectional study was performed on adults aged 40–80 years, residing in Yazd district, in 2010–2011. Eligible subjects were selected using cluster random sampling. Each participant underwent an interview and complete ophthalmologic examination. Blindness and VI were defined as best-corrected visual acuity (VA) <3/60 and < 6/18 in the better eye, respectively.Results:Out of 2,320 eligible individuals, 2,098 participated in the study (90.4% response rate), of whom, 2,023 subjects completed all evaluations. The standardized prevalence of blindness and VI were 0.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.3–1.0%) and 4.4% (95% CI, 3.3–5.4%), respectively which was significantly associated with older age (odd ratio [OR] = 3.2, 95% CI: 1.9–5.2 and OR = 3.1, 95% CI: 2.3–4.2, respectively) and female sex (OR = 3.6, 95% CI: 1.1–12.3 and OR = 1.7, 95% CI: 1.2–2.5, respectively). The proportion of avoidable causes of blindness and VI were 92.9% (95% CI: 80.0-100.0%) and 76.6% (95% CI: 69.2-85.0%), respectively. Major causes of blindness were diabetic retinopathy (50.0%), glaucoma (21.4%) and cataracts (14.3%) whereas main causes of VI were cataracts (41.5%), diabetic retinopathy (17.0%) and age-related macular degeneration (13.8%).Conclusions:Diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, cataract and age-related macular degeneration were the leading causes of blindness and VI in Yazd, most of which are avoidable. Planning for prevention of blindness is highly recommended to decrease the proportion of avoidable blindness.
Highlights
Visual impairment (VI) is a major health problem worldwide.[1]
The standardized prevalence of blindness and VI were 0.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.3–1.0%) and 4.4%, respectively which was significantly associated with older age and female sex (OR = 3.6, 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs): 1.1–12.3 and OR = 1.7, 95% CI: 1.2–2.5, respectively)
Nowadays, living standards have been improved in most communities, but the prevalence of avoidable blindness remains significantly high in many countries
Summary
Visual impairment (VI) is a major health problem worldwide.[1] According to the World Health Organization (WHO) estimations, 285 million visually impaired people lived in the world in 2010 which. Prevalence and Causes of Visual Impairment in Iran; Katibeh et al included 39 million blind people and 246 million subjects with low vision.[2] Visual problems impose large costs on the society.[3] Nowadays, living standards have been improved in most communities, but the prevalence of avoidable blindness remains significantly high in many countries. A number of studies have reported the prevalence of VI and blindness in Iran, but no population‐based study data is available from central Iran.[5,6,7,8,9] This population‐based study was performed in Yazd district to determine the prevalence and causes of VI and blindness in the central region of Iran
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