Prevalence and Causes of Visual Impairment in Adults in Binhu District, Wuxi, China

Abstract

BackgroundPreviously reported data has guided the treatment and prevention of blindness. This study aimed to evaluate the current prevalence and causes of visual impairment among adults who were 50 years old and older in the Binhu District of Wuxi City, China.Material/MethodsA randomized sample of stratified clusters was used to analyze individuals from 30 basic sampling units in Wuxi Binhu District. Visual impairment was defined according to World Health Organization (WHO) standards.ResultsA total of 6725 people who were at least 50 years old participated in this study. According to WHO standards, bilateral low vision and blindness prevalence were both higher in women than in men (low vision: 6.5% vs. 5.2%; and blindness: 1.4% vs. 0.8%; P=0.022 and P=0.039, respectively). The incidence of bilateral visual impairment increased significantly with age (P<0.001 and P<0.001, respectively). Further studies showed that the main causes of bilateral low vision were cataract, high myopic macular degeneration (MMD), and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The main causes of bilateral blindness were cataract, MMD, and eye loss/atrophy, while the main causes of monocular low vision were cataract, MD, and AMD. The main causes of monocular blindness were cataract, eye loss/atrophy, and AMD.ConclusionsThe prevalence of low vision and blindness remains high in the Binhu District of Wuxi City in China, especially among older women. In our study, cataracts were the leading cause of visual impairment. Our study highlights that some efforts should be initiated to prevent and treat blindness and low vision. Additional causes of visual impairment were MMD, AMD, and eye loss/atrophy.

Prevalence and causes of bilateral visual impairment in rural areas of Tianjin, China – The Tianjin Eye Study

“…It was the leading cause of low vision and blindness in the younger group (aged 18–49 years), accounting for 58.97% of visual impairment, 59.45% of low vision and 50.00% of blindness. These findings were consistent with previous studies in China (Saw et al 2004; Zhang et al 2012; Li et al 2012; Wang et al 2013; Tang et al 2015; Li et al 2015; Yang et al 2016; Zhang et al 2016; Guo et al 2017; Li et al 2018; Chen et al 2018). Refractive error/amblyopia is not an age‐related eye disorder, and its substantial contribution to the burden of visual impairment in the younger group may reflect a high prevalence in younger working‐aged Chinese in whom the disability burden is likely to be greater due to impediments to occupational function.…”

“…Indeed, an increasing trend of low vision prevalence was also observed in the Taizhou Eye study (Tang et al 2015) and the Nine‐Province Eye study (Zhao et al 2018). In our study, we also confirmed that the prevalence of low vision and blindness increased with age (Saw et al 2004; Li et al 2012; Tang et al 2015; Li et al 2015; Yang et al 2016; Zhang et al 2016; Guo et al 2017; Hu et al 2017; Chen et al 2018). We observed a higher likelihood of visual impairment and low vision in women than men, which was also found in the China Nine‐Province Survey (Zhao et al 2018) and the Wuxi Eye study (Chen et al 2018).…”

“…Dai ethnic groups: 6.70% (Yang et al 2016); Bai ethnic groups: 7.75% (Li et al 2012)). The prevalence of blindness in participants over 50 years in our study (0.36%) was similar to that in the Urban Southern China Eye Study (0.33%) (Wang et al 2013) but was still lower than those reported in previous studies ranged from 0.9% to 2.88% (Li et al 2012; Yang et al 2016; Li et al 2018; Chen et al 2018; Zhao et al 2018). The potential reasons for these discrepancies could be due to differences in demographic makeup, sampling methods and definitions of low vision and blindness.…”

“…Our results were also compared with studies focused on Chinese populations over 50, based on the WHO criteria. The prevalence of low vision in 50+ populations in the present study (6.18%) was higher than those reported in Beijing, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Heilongjiang, Jiangxi, Hebei, Ningxia, Chongqing, Yunnan and Xinjiang (4.45%–5.4%) (Wang et al 2013; Li et al 2018; Chen et al 2018; Zhao et al 2018), but was lower than those reported in ethnic minority groups aged 50+ years in China (e.g. Dai ethnic groups: 6.70% (Yang et al 2016); Bai ethnic groups: 7.75% (Li et al 2012)).…”

“…For instance, a study in the global population in 2015 has found that the leading causes of moderate or severe visual impairment (visual acuity <6/18 in the better eye) were uncorrected refractive error, cataract and AMD (Flaxman et al 2017). In contrast to developed countries, cataract was the leading cause of visual impairment in China (Saw et al 2004; Liang et al 2008; You et al 2011; Zhang et al 2012; Li et al 2012; Tang et al 2015; Li et al 2015; Yang et al 2016; Zhang et al 2016; Guo et al 2017; Hu et al 2017; Li et al 2018; Chen et al 2018), which was also confirmed in the Tianjin Eye study. The most frequent cause for low vision and blindness was cataract, in particular, in the older group (50+) in Tianjin, China.…”