Prevalence and risk factors of visual impairment and blindness in Korea: the Fourth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 2008–2010

Abstract

ABSTRACT.Purpose: To describe the age, gender specific prevalence and risk factors of visual impairment and blindness in Korea. Methods: From 2008 to 2010, a total 14 924 randomly selected national representative participants of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey underwent additional ophthalmologic examinations by the Korean Ophthalmologic Society. Best Corrected Distance Visual Acuity was measured using an international standard vision chart based on Snellen scale (Jin's vision chart). Independent risk factors for visual impairment were investigated using multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results: The overall prevalence of visual impairment (≤20/40) of adults 40 years and older was 4.1% (95% CI, 3.6-4.6) based on the better seeing eye. The overall prevalence of blindness (≤20/200) for adults 40 years and older was 0.2% (95% CI, 0.1-0.3). Risk indicators of visual impairment were increasing age, low education status, living in rural area, being unemployed, being without spouse and the absence of private health insurance. The visually impaired were more likely to have eye diseases compared with the normal subjects, and they were less likely to utilize eye care. Conclusion: The prevalence of visual impairment was demonstrated to be higher while that of blindness was similar to previous population studies in Asia or U.S. Sociodemographic disparities are present in the prevalence of visual impairment and more targeted efforts are needed to promote vision screening in high risk groups.

Sociodemographic, behavioral, and medical risk factors associated with visual impairment among older adults: a community-based pilot survey in Southern District of Hong Kong

“…We did not find any significant association of VI with gender, marital status, employment status and household income. Previous studies in eastern China, Singapore and Korea found, in addition to older age and lower educational level, that being unemployed, separated, or females were independent risk factors for VI [ 34 , 48 , 49 ]. However, the associations of VI with gender, marital status and employment status have not been shown in other studies from southern India and Taiwan [ 50 , 51 ].…”

Influence of visual acuity on suicidal ideation, suicide attempts and depression in South Korea

“…Visual impairment is also an important health issue, and approximately 14 million individuals aged 12 years or older in the USA had visual impairment in 2006 4. In our previous study, we found that the overall prevalence of visual impairment (acuity ≤20/40) in adults 40 years and older was 4.1% in Korea in 2008–2010, which was higher than in Asia or the USA 5. Reduced visual acuity (VA) influences mental health, including the occurrence of depression6–9 and suicidality,10–12 and also the quality of life 13 14.…”

Nationwide incidence of blindness in South Korea: a 12‐year study from 2002 to 2013

“…Recently, large-scale health-related studies using national registry data have been performed, such as studies on the nationwide incidence of age-related macular degeneration and nationwide incidence of moyamoya disease. 1,2 Numerous population-based studies have assessed the incidence of blindness in various ethnic populations [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] ; however, no previous study has evaluated the incidence of blindness over a long period using data from the entire population, including all age groups, of a single country.…”