AIM: To determine the prevalence and causes of visual impairment and blindness in the Sistan-va-Baluchestan Province of Iran. METHODS: A population-based cross-sectional study with a multistage cluster sampling technique was used to identify the study subjects. Visual acuity (VA) was defined for all participants aged >or=10 years. Participants with a VA of <20/60 were examined by an ophthalmologist to determine the causes of low vision or blindness. RESULTS: 5446 (84.0%) of the invited people were examined. The prevalence of visual impairment (VA <20/60) was 6.81% (95% CI 5.91% to 7.71%) and of bilateral blindness (VA <3/60) was 0.79% (95% CI 0.50% to 1.08%). Visual impairment increased with age and illiteracy. Bilateral blindness doubled in women aged >40 years. The causes of visual impairment and blindness were cataract (37.7%), corneal opacity (15.0%), amblyopia (15.0%), glaucoma (5.7%) and hyperopia (5.0%). 39.5% of the visual impairment cases were potentially curable. CONCLUSION: The estimated magnitude of visual impairment and blindness was much higher than our expectations. Further investigation of the pattern of vision loss in women and children, particularly as a result of trachoma and amblyopia, is warranted. Implementation of measures to treat curable cases of the study population can improve the situation in the region dramatically.
AIM: To determine the prevalence and causes of visual impairment and blindness in the Sistan-va-Baluchestan Province of Iran. METHODS: A population-based cross-sectional study with a multistage cluster sampling technique was used to identify the study subjects. Visual acuity (VA) was defined for all participants aged >or=10 years. Participants with a VA of <20/60 were examined by an ophthalmologist to determine the causes of low vision or blindness. RESULTS: 5446 (84.0%) of the invited people were examined. The prevalence of visual impairment (VA <20/60) was 6.81% (95% CI 5.91% to 7.71%) and of bilateral blindness (VA <3/60) was 0.79% (95% CI 0.50% to 1.08%). Visual impairment increased with age and illiteracy. Bilateral blindness doubled in women aged >40 years. The causes of visual impairment and blindness were cataract (37.7%), corneal opacity (15.0%), amblyopia (15.0%), glaucoma (5.7%) and hyperopia (5.0%). 39.5% of the visual impairment cases were potentially curable. CONCLUSION: The estimated magnitude of visual impairment and blindness was much higher than our expectations. Further investigation of the pattern of vision loss in women and children, particularly as a result of trachoma and amblyopia, is warranted. Implementation of measures to treat curable cases of the study population can improve the situation in the region dramatically.
Authors: P K Nirmalan; R D Thulasiraj; V Maneksha; R Rahmathullah; R Ramakrishnan; A Padmavathi; S R Munoz; L B Ellwein Journal: Br J Ophthalmol Date: 2002-05 Impact factor: 4.638
Authors: M Melese; W Alemayehu; S Bayu; T Girma; T Hailesellasie; R Khandekar; A Worku; P Courtright Journal: Br J Ophthalmol Date: 2003-06 Impact factor: 4.638
Authors: J R Evans; A E Fletcher; R P L Wormald; E Siu-Woon Ng; S Stirling; L Smeeth; E Breeze; C J Bulpitt; M Nunes; D Jones; A Tulloch Journal: Br J Ophthalmol Date: 2002-07 Impact factor: 4.638
Authors: M Zainal; S M Ismail; A R Ropilah; H Elias; G Arumugam; D Alias; J Fathilah; T O Lim; L M Ding; P P Goh Journal: Br J Ophthalmol Date: 2002-09 Impact factor: 4.638
Authors: Marzieh Katibeh; Karl Blanchet; Shadi Akbarian; Sara Hosseini; Hamid Ahmadieh; Matthew J Burton Journal: BMC Health Serv Res Date: 2015-04-03 Impact factor: 2.655
Authors: Hassan Hashemi; Farhad Rezvan; AbbasAli Yekta; Hadi Ostadimoghaddam; Sara Soroush; Nooshin Dadbin; Mehdi Khabazkhoob Journal: Iran J Public Health Date: 2015-06 Impact factor: 1.429