Abstract
Visual impairment has become a global challenge, especially for developing countries. This study aims to estimate the prevalence, causes and social factors of visual impairment among Chinese adults. Data were from a nationally representative population-based cross-sectional study. The study population were 1,909,199 non-institutionalized adults aged 18 years and older in mainland China. In the survey, low vision and blindness were checked by ophthalmologists according to the WHO best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) criteria. Population weighted numbers and prevalence of low vision and blindness with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated where appropriate. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify the social factors of visual impairment. The weighted prevalence of visual impairment was 17.17 (95% CI, 16.84–17.50) per 1000 Chinese adults aged 18 years and older. Cataract (57.35%), disorders of choroid and retina (9.80%), and disorders of cornea (6.49%) contributed more than 70 percent to the visual impairment in Chinese adults. Older age groups, young or middle-aged male adults, female elders, illiterate, rural dwellers, non-eastern residents, singles, unemployment, and from family with lower income were associated with visual impairment. More efforts are warranted to enhance treatment and rehabilitation among people with eye disorders to prevent visual impairment.
Highlights
Visual impairment has become a global challenge, especially for developing countries [1]
The weighted prevalence of visual impairment was 17.17 per 1000 Chinese adults aged 18 years and older
Our findings showed that the odds ratios (ORs) for lower SES including illiterate, rural residents, divorced or widowed subjects, unemployed, were higher in the youngest group, which indicated a stronger relationship between lower socioeconomic status (SES) and visual impairment in the young adults
Summary
Visual impairment has become a global challenge, especially for developing countries [1]. In 2010, the World Health Organization estimated that there were 285 million people living with visual impairment worldwide, and 90% lived in low-and middle-income countries [1,2]. Visual impairment is one of the strongest risk factors for functional status decline in community-living people [3]. People with visual impairments are at high risk of disabilities due to their difficulties in physical activities and social participation [4,5]. Visual impairment is influenced by socioeconomic factors including age, gender, education status, residence area, and so on [9,10,11,12,13,14,15]
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