Prevalence of ocular morbidity among rural elderly of Belagavi

Abstract

Introduction: Blindness and visual impairment by its sheer magnitude forms an enormous problem, not only in human suffering, but also in terms of economical loss and social burden. Globally, 285 million people are visually impaired. Among them, the preventable causes are as high as 80% and the main burden is carried by developing countries. Materials and Methods: The present community based cross sectional study was conducted among individuals aged 60 years and above residing in the area covered under Vantamuri Primary Health Centre, Belagavi from 1 st January to 31 st December 2016. Data was collected from the study subject regarding socio-demographic variables and personal history. Detailed ocular examination was carried out, which included external eye examination using torch, visual acuity examination, confrontation test and fundus examination using ophthalmoscope. Results: The prevalence of ocular morbidities among elderly in rural area was 60.64%. Mean number of ocular morbidities per person was 1.78 + 1.05. Prevalence of visual impairment and blindness among elderly was 28.07% and 2.90% respectively. Major causes for ocular morbidities noted in our study were cataract, refractive error, retinopathies and glaucoma. Conclusion:The present cross sectional study, reported a higher prevalence of ocular morbidities among elderly in rural area. Ocular morbidity favoured people with higher age, female sex and illiterates.