Prevalence and pattern of ocular morbidity and factors influencing ocular morbidity in a rural population in south India: a community based cross sectional study

Abstract

Background: Preventable blindness is still one of the major public health problems in India. The scarcity of community-based studies on ocular morbidity, more especially from rural areas is one of the reasons for the inadequate focus on the subject. The objectives were to study the pattern and factors associated with ocular morbidity in a rural adult population. Methods: The study was a cross sectional study conducted in field practice area of rural health Center, Cheluvanatti village in the state of Karnataka. Among 16 villages, one village was selected by convenient sampling. Ocular morbidity was assessed by detailed history and clinical examination by trained clinicians. Results: Among total 1181 population, 872 people >18 years were included in the final analysis. Majority portion (72.9%) of the study population was in 18-45 years age group. There were 51.3% of males and the proportion of females was 48.7%. The prevalence of ocular morbidity was 13.9% (95% CI 12.0%-16.0%) in the study population. The most common ocular morbidity was refractive errors seen in 56(6.4%), followed by cataract seen in 35 (4%) and corneal blindness seen in 26 (3%) subjects. The presence of ocular morbidity was 4.49 times more in 46-60 years age group compared with 18 to 45 years age group (95% CI 2. 76 -7.33, p<0.01). Compared with higher studies people the presence of ocular morbidity in illiterate was 35.32 times more p<0.01). The presence of ocular morbidity was 20.64 times more in diabetic patients (95% CI 8. 95-47.61, p<0.01) comparing with non-diabetic patients. Conclusions:The prevalence of ocular morbidity is still more in aged people and the village people are getting more effect with their practices and behavior. There is a need to go with more community-based cross sectional studies and also the preventive methods to reduce and avoid the risk of ocular diseases. Venkataramana et al. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2017 Aug;4(8):2939-2945 International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health | August 2017 | Vol 4 | Issue 8 Page 2940 people, the majority of them living in rural areas, with poor access to quality eye care services. By the year 2020, this number is projected to be twice the current level, without appropriate strategies. Keywords 7Various reports have highlighted the fact that 80% of global burden of visual impairment can be prevented, treated or cured. Globally, the leading causes of blindness are a cataract, uncorrected refractive errors, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration. Other major causes include Corneal opacities, Diabetic retinopathy, Blinding trachoma.8 Even in India, preventable and treatable causes like cataract (62.6%) refractive error (19.70%) still contribute to more than 80% preventable blindness. 6 Factors which strongly influence the occurrence and burden and pattern of ocular diseases in a particular community include age structure of the population, socioeconomic conditions, Educational status, occupational profile and environmental conditions etc., Healthcare s...

Study on ocular morbidity in eye camp patients in rural medical hospital

“…8 Venkataramana et al, showed in a study conducted on 1181 population prevalence of ocular morbidity was 13.9%, most common ocular morbidity were refractive error (6.4%) in 18-45 years age group followed by cataract (4%), corneal blindness (3%) in 46-60 years age group. 9 Singh et al, conducted a cross-sectionalstudy on 9736 people, most common ocular morbidity were Cataract (41.89%) followed by uncorrected refractive error (21.59%), glaucoma (4.83%) among 931 cases identified with eye diseases. 10 Thus, cataract was found to be the common ocular morbid condition in elderly patients.…”

Prevalence of ocular morbidities among children’s attending ophthalmology OPD in tertiary care hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

“…Ocular morbidities among pediatric age group play a major role in their education in addition to occurrenceof blindness in our community. Ocular morbidity in children affects learning capacity, adjustment in school, and persona [1,2].Overall, 39 million people are blind worldwide, out of which 1.4 million are children (less than 14 years of age).In a survey on children ≤15 years of age, the rate of childhood blindness was 0.17%, of which 33.3% was due to treatable refractive errors while 66.6% was secondary to other preventable causes [3].Even in India, preventable and treatable causes like cataract, refractive error still contribute to more than 80% preventable blindness [4,5].About 30% of blind population of India lose their eyesight before the age of 20 years and many of them are under 5 when they become blind [2,6]. The above data from the review of literature cleanly indicates the importance of this study.…”