Visual impairment among adults in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: To estimate the prevalence of visual impairment, and identify its causes and associated factors among adults aged 40 years and over, attending for eye examination at a Riyadh public hospital in Saudi Arabia. Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study conducted among 195 consecutive older adults who attended the outpatient ophthalmology clinic of King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital between 1 February and 30 June 2018. All participants underwent comprehensive ophthalmic examination: visual acuity, refraction (objective and subjective), fundus photography and automated visual field assessment. Classification of visual impairment was based on the World Health Organization criteria: mild visual impairment if best-corrected distance visual acuity < 6/12-6/18 in the better eye; moderate visual impairment if bestcorrected visual acuity < 6/18-6/60 in the better eye; and severe visual impairment if bestcorrected visual acuity < 6/60-3/60. Regression analysis was used to identify the factors associated with visual impairment. Results: The study participants included 107 (54.9 per cent) females, and the mean (SD) age was 61.1 AE 10.9 years. The overall prevalence of visual impairment (14.9 per cent, 29 cases), consisting of severe (0.5 per cent), moderate (9.7 per cent) and mild (4.6 per cent) forms, correlated significantly with age (R 2 = 0.023, p = 0.04). The main causes of visual impairment were glaucoma (48.3 per cent), cataract (31.0 per cent), refractive error, and diabetic retinopathy (24.1 per cent each). The odds of having visual impairment increased by 22 per cent and eight per cent respectively in participants who had diabetic retinopathy (adjusted odds ratio 1.22, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05, 1.95) and glaucoma (1.08, CI 1.02, 1.40). Conclusions: The prevalence of visual impairment among older adults attending the ophthalmology clinic in Riyadh city was high and driven by the high rate of diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma in this region. As part of their routine checks, there is need to make dilated fundus examination and intraocular pressure measurement mandatory tests in addition to refraction and visual acuity testing, when examining Saudi adults attending the hospital eye clinics in Riyadh province.

Visual impairment and its associated factors among medical and health sciences students at the University of Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia

“…The current study revealed that the magnitude of VI among medicine and health science students was 12.5% (95% CI: 10.21, 15.31%), which is comparable with a study done on adults in China (15.2%) [ 33 ], and Saudi Arabia (13.9%) [ 34 ], (14.90%) [ 35 ], respectively. However, the finding of this study was higher than the prevalence reported in Ghana 5.8% [ 36 ], Nigeria (5.02%) [ 37 ], (3.5%) [ 38 ], USA (7.5%) [ 39 ], Malaysia (8.9%) [ 40 ] and china (2.7%) [ 41 ].…”

The impact of sensory impairments and eye diseases on cognitive function in elderly Chinese: The mediating effects of social participation

“…Previous research pointed out that distance visual impairment was gradual and the prevalence increased with age [ 48 ]. The World Health Organization estimates that about 189 million people are currently living with distance visual impairment [ 49 ], with most of those affected residing in developing countries [ 50 ]. Moreover, a population study based on communities of older adults in the USA indicated that 20% of the elderly experience significant distance visual impairment [ 47 ].…”

Visual Impairment and Its Associated Factors Among Hypertensive Patients in Amhara Region Referral Hospitals, Ethiopia

“…The prevalence of VI among hypertensive patients was 32.4%, which is higher than studies done in India at 26.4%, 22 China at 8.2%, 20 Eastern Taiwan at 14.7%, 21 and Saudi Arabia at 13.4%. 40 The possible reason for this discrepancy might be due to the differences in the definition of VI and the cut point of VA. In our study, the presenting visual acuity of the better eye was used to define VI, which can lead to a relatively higher prevalence than the above studies where they used best-corrected visual acuity to define VI.…”