Profile of childhood blindness and low vision in Yemen: a hospital-based study

Abstract

A retrospective review of records determined the frequency and causes of low vision and blindness in all children aged < 16 years attending an ophthalmic practice in Sana'a, Yemen between January and December 2001. Of the 1104 children studied, 45 (4.1%) were found to have bilateral blindness and 115 (10.4%) were unilaterally blind; 48 children (4.3%) were bilaterally visually impaired and 109 (9.9%) were unilaterally visually impaired. The main causes of bilateral blindness included cataract, glaucoma and retinal disorders. The most common causes of bilateral low vision included refractive errors, keratoconus and retinal disorders. These results provide a basis for planning blindness prevention programmes in Yemen.

Demographic and clinical characteristics of a paediatric low vision population in a low vision clinic in China

“…Congenital cataract (21.61 per cent) was the leading cause of visual impairment, followed by optic atrophy, macular dystrophy, nystagmus and congenital glaucoma. Similarly, in previous hospital-based studies [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34] of the paediatric low vision population and of the causes of visual impairment, the common causes of visual impairment were congenital and hereditary eye diseases and in particular, congenital cataract, congenital glaucoma, optic atrophy and retinal and macular inherited disorders. In our study, the majority of the congenital cataract patients, who were unresponsive to therapy for amblyopia, also had nystagmus, strabismus or secondary glaucoma.…”

“…There is a preponderance of males (64.20 per cent) over females in this study, an observation seen in other similar studies. [27][28][29][30][31] There are many possible reasons for this, namely, boys may have a higher risk of visual impairment than girls, girls may have a greater mortality rate than boys or the parents of boys may be more willing to seek eye care than the parents of girls.…”

Ocular Health Status and Causes of Enrolment into Special Schools in Osun State, Nigeria

“…Others were buphthalmic corneal opacities and corneal dystrophy. This was in contrast to cataract, glaucoma and retinal disorders that were seen in Yemen to cause blindness [13]. However, this is unfortunate because these are preventable causes of blindness.…”

Global challenges in the management of congenital cataract: proceedings of the 4th International Congenital Cataract Symposium held on March 7, 2014, New York, New York

“…Additionally, the cultural issue of consanguinity in the region contributes to high rates of congenital cataract and other ocular anomalies. In the Eastern Mediterranean region, lens pathology is responsible for 7%-20% of visual impairment in children, according to studies performed in Iran, 30,31 Yemen, 32 and Sudan. 33 Groups invested in strengthening eye care services for children with congenital cataracts include the Middle East Africa Council of Ophthalmology (MEACO) and its subspecialty organization, the Middle East Africa Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus Society (MEAPOSS).…”