Prevalence and causes of blindness and vision impairment: Magnitude, temporal trends and projections in South and Central Asia

Vinay Nangia; Jost B. Jonas; Ronnie George; Vijaya Lingam; Leon Ellwein; Maria Vittoria Cicinelli; Aditi Das; Seth R. Flaxman; Jill E. Keeffe; John H. Kempen; Janet Leasher; Hans Limburg; Kovin Naidoo; Konrad Pesudovs; Serge Resnikoff; Alexander J. Silvester; Nina Tahhan; Hugh R. Taylor; Tien Y. Wong; Rupert R.A. Bourne

doi:10.1136/bjophthalmol-2018-312292

Prevalence and causes of blindness and vision impairment: Magnitude, temporal trends and projections in South and Central Asia

Vinay Nangia
, Jost B. Jonas
, Ronnie George
, Vijaya Lingam
, Leon Ellwein
, Maria Vittoria Cicinelli
, Aditi Das
, Seth R. Flaxman
, Jill E. Keeffe
, John H. Kempen
, Janet Leasher
, Hans Limburg
, Kovin Naidoo
, Konrad Pesudovs
, Serge Resnikoff
, Alexander J. Silvester
, Nina Tahhan
, Hugh R. Taylor
, Tien Y. Wong
, Rupert R.A. Bourne

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

BACKGROUND: To assess prevalence and causes of vision loss in Central and South Asia.

METHODS: A systematic review of medical literature assessed the prevalence of blindness (presenting visual acuity<3/60 in the better eye), moderate and severe vision impairment (MSVI; presenting visual acuity <6/18 but ≥3/60) and mild vision impairment (MVI; presenting visual acuity <6/12 and ≥6/18) in Central and South Asia for 1990, 2010, 2015 and 2020.

RESULTS: In Central and South Asia combined, age-standardised prevalences of blindness, MSVI and MVI in 2015 were for men and women aged 50+years, 3.72% (80% uncertainty interval (UI): 1.39-6.75) and 4.00% (80% UI: 1.41-7.39), 16.33% (80% UI: 8.55-25.47) and 17.65% (80% UI: 9.00-27.62), 11.70% (80% UI: 4.70-20.32) and 12.25% (80% UI:4.86-21.30), respectively, with a significant decrease in the study period for both gender. In South Asia in 2015, 11.76 million individuals (32.65% of the global blindness figure) were blind and 61.19 million individuals (28.3% of the global total) had MSVI. From 1990 to 2015, cataract (accounting for 36.58% of all cases with blindness in 2015) was the most common cause of blindness, followed by undercorrected refractive error (36.43%), glaucoma (5.81%), age-related macular degeneration (2.44%), corneal diseases (2.43%), diabetic retinopathy (0.16%) and trachoma (0.04%). For MSVI in South Asia 2015, most common causes were undercorrected refractive error (accounting for 66.39% of all cases with MSVI), followed by cataract (23.62%), age-related macular degeneration (1.31%) and glaucoma (1.09%).

CONCLUSIONS: One-third of the global blind resided in South Asia in 2015, although the age-standardised prevalence of blindness and MSVI decreased significantly between 1990 and 2015.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	871-877
Number of pages	7
Journal	British Journal of Ophthalmology
Volume	103
Issue number	7
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1136/bjophthalmol-2018-312292
State	Published - Jul 1 2019

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

Funding

This study was funded by the Brien Holden Vision Institute. The results in this paper are prepared independently of the final estimates of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries and Risk Factors study. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript.

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

Ophthalmology
Sensory Systems
Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

Keywords

blindness
cataract
epidemiology
glaucoma
global burden of disease study
macular degeneration
refractive error
vision impairment
vision loss
vision loss expert group

Disciplines

Ophthalmology
Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience
Systems Neuroscience

Access to Document

10.1136/bjophthalmol-2018-312292

Cite this

Nangia, V., Jonas, J. B., George, R., Lingam, V., Ellwein, L., Cicinelli, M. V., Das, A., Flaxman, S. R., Keeffe, J. E., Kempen, J. H., Leasher, J., Limburg, H., Naidoo, K., Pesudovs, K., Resnikoff, S., Silvester, A. J., Tahhan, N., Taylor, H. R., Wong, T. Y., & Bourne, R. R. A. (2019). Prevalence and causes of blindness and vision impairment: Magnitude, temporal trends and projections in South and Central Asia. British Journal of Ophthalmology, 103(7), 871-877. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjophthalmol-2018-312292

Nangia, V, Jonas, JB, George, R, Lingam, V, Ellwein, L, Cicinelli, MV, Das, A, Flaxman, SR, Keeffe, JE, Kempen, JH, Leasher, J, Limburg, H, Naidoo, K, Pesudovs, K, Resnikoff, S, Silvester, AJ, Tahhan, N, Taylor, HR, Wong, TY & Bourne, RRA 2019, 'Prevalence and causes of blindness and vision impairment: Magnitude, temporal trends and projections in South and Central Asia', British Journal of Ophthalmology, vol. 103, no. 7, pp. 871-877. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjophthalmol-2018-312292

@article{b77771256d0f44ff934131f971f4551a,

title = "Prevalence and causes of blindness and vision impairment: Magnitude, temporal trends and projections in South and Central Asia",

abstract = "BACKGROUND: To assess prevalence and causes of vision loss in Central and South Asia.METHODS: A systematic review of medical literature assessed the prevalence of blindness (presenting visual acuity<3/60 in the better eye), moderate and severe vision impairment (MSVI; presenting visual acuity <6/18 but ≥3/60) and mild vision impairment (MVI; presenting visual acuity <6/12 and ≥6/18) in Central and South Asia for 1990, 2010, 2015 and 2020.RESULTS: In Central and South Asia combined, age-standardised prevalences of blindness, MSVI and MVI in 2015 were for men and women aged 50+years, 3.72\% (80\% uncertainty interval (UI): 1.39-6.75) and 4.00\% (80\% UI: 1.41-7.39), 16.33\% (80\% UI: 8.55-25.47) and 17.65\% (80\% UI: 9.00-27.62), 11.70\% (80\% UI: 4.70-20.32) and 12.25\% (80\% UI:4.86-21.30), respectively, with a significant decrease in the study period for both gender. In South Asia in 2015, 11.76 million individuals (32.65\% of the global blindness figure) were blind and 61.19 million individuals (28.3\% of the global total) had MSVI. From 1990 to 2015, cataract (accounting for 36.58\% of all cases with blindness in 2015) was the most common cause of blindness, followed by undercorrected refractive error (36.43\%), glaucoma (5.81\%), age-related macular degeneration (2.44\%), corneal diseases (2.43\%), diabetic retinopathy (0.16\%) and trachoma (0.04\%). For MSVI in South Asia 2015, most common causes were undercorrected refractive error (accounting for 66.39\% of all cases with MSVI), followed by cataract (23.62\%), age-related macular degeneration (1.31\%) and glaucoma (1.09\%).CONCLUSIONS: One-third of the global blind resided in South Asia in 2015, although the age-standardised prevalence of blindness and MSVI decreased significantly between 1990 and 2015.",

keywords = "blindness, cataract, epidemiology, glaucoma, global burden of disease study, macular degeneration, refractive error, vision impairment, vision loss, vision loss expert group",

author = "Vinay Nangia and Jonas, \{Jost B.\} and Ronnie George and Vijaya Lingam and Leon Ellwein and Cicinelli, \{Maria Vittoria\} and Aditi Das and Flaxman, \{Seth R.\} and Keeffe, \{Jill E.\} and Kempen, \{John H.\} and Janet Leasher and Hans Limburg and Kovin Naidoo and Konrad Pesudovs and Serge Resnikoff and Silvester, \{Alexander J.\} and Nina Tahhan and Taylor, \{Hugh R.\} and Wong, \{Tien Y.\} and Bourne, \{Rupert R.A.\}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.",

year = "2019",

month = jul,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1136/bjophthalmol-2018-312292",

language = "English",

volume = "103",

pages = "871--877",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Prevalence and causes of blindness and vision impairment

T2 - Magnitude, temporal trends and projections in South and Central Asia

AU - Nangia, Vinay

AU - Jonas, Jost B.

AU - George, Ronnie

AU - Lingam, Vijaya

AU - Ellwein, Leon

AU - Cicinelli, Maria Vittoria

AU - Das, Aditi

AU - Flaxman, Seth R.

AU - Keeffe, Jill E.

AU - Kempen, John H.

AU - Leasher, Janet

AU - Limburg, Hans

AU - Naidoo, Kovin

AU - Pesudovs, Konrad

AU - Resnikoff, Serge

AU - Silvester, Alexander J.

AU - Tahhan, Nina

AU - Taylor, Hugh R.

AU - Wong, Tien Y.

AU - Bourne, Rupert R.A.

PY - 2019/7/1

Y1 - 2019/7/1

N2 - BACKGROUND: To assess prevalence and causes of vision loss in Central and South Asia.METHODS: A systematic review of medical literature assessed the prevalence of blindness (presenting visual acuity<3/60 in the better eye), moderate and severe vision impairment (MSVI; presenting visual acuity <6/18 but ≥3/60) and mild vision impairment (MVI; presenting visual acuity <6/12 and ≥6/18) in Central and South Asia for 1990, 2010, 2015 and 2020.RESULTS: In Central and South Asia combined, age-standardised prevalences of blindness, MSVI and MVI in 2015 were for men and women aged 50+years, 3.72% (80% uncertainty interval (UI): 1.39-6.75) and 4.00% (80% UI: 1.41-7.39), 16.33% (80% UI: 8.55-25.47) and 17.65% (80% UI: 9.00-27.62), 11.70% (80% UI: 4.70-20.32) and 12.25% (80% UI:4.86-21.30), respectively, with a significant decrease in the study period for both gender. In South Asia in 2015, 11.76 million individuals (32.65% of the global blindness figure) were blind and 61.19 million individuals (28.3% of the global total) had MSVI. From 1990 to 2015, cataract (accounting for 36.58% of all cases with blindness in 2015) was the most common cause of blindness, followed by undercorrected refractive error (36.43%), glaucoma (5.81%), age-related macular degeneration (2.44%), corneal diseases (2.43%), diabetic retinopathy (0.16%) and trachoma (0.04%). For MSVI in South Asia 2015, most common causes were undercorrected refractive error (accounting for 66.39% of all cases with MSVI), followed by cataract (23.62%), age-related macular degeneration (1.31%) and glaucoma (1.09%).CONCLUSIONS: One-third of the global blind resided in South Asia in 2015, although the age-standardised prevalence of blindness and MSVI decreased significantly between 1990 and 2015.

AB - BACKGROUND: To assess prevalence and causes of vision loss in Central and South Asia.METHODS: A systematic review of medical literature assessed the prevalence of blindness (presenting visual acuity<3/60 in the better eye), moderate and severe vision impairment (MSVI; presenting visual acuity <6/18 but ≥3/60) and mild vision impairment (MVI; presenting visual acuity <6/12 and ≥6/18) in Central and South Asia for 1990, 2010, 2015 and 2020.RESULTS: In Central and South Asia combined, age-standardised prevalences of blindness, MSVI and MVI in 2015 were for men and women aged 50+years, 3.72% (80% uncertainty interval (UI): 1.39-6.75) and 4.00% (80% UI: 1.41-7.39), 16.33% (80% UI: 8.55-25.47) and 17.65% (80% UI: 9.00-27.62), 11.70% (80% UI: 4.70-20.32) and 12.25% (80% UI:4.86-21.30), respectively, with a significant decrease in the study period for both gender. In South Asia in 2015, 11.76 million individuals (32.65% of the global blindness figure) were blind and 61.19 million individuals (28.3% of the global total) had MSVI. From 1990 to 2015, cataract (accounting for 36.58% of all cases with blindness in 2015) was the most common cause of blindness, followed by undercorrected refractive error (36.43%), glaucoma (5.81%), age-related macular degeneration (2.44%), corneal diseases (2.43%), diabetic retinopathy (0.16%) and trachoma (0.04%). For MSVI in South Asia 2015, most common causes were undercorrected refractive error (accounting for 66.39% of all cases with MSVI), followed by cataract (23.62%), age-related macular degeneration (1.31%) and glaucoma (1.09%).CONCLUSIONS: One-third of the global blind resided in South Asia in 2015, although the age-standardised prevalence of blindness and MSVI decreased significantly between 1990 and 2015.

KW - blindness

KW - cataract

KW - epidemiology

KW - glaucoma

KW - global burden of disease study

KW - macular degeneration

KW - refractive error

KW - vision impairment

KW - vision loss

KW - vision loss expert group

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DO - 10.1136/bjophthalmol-2018-312292

M3 - Article

C2 - 30409914

AN - SCOPUS:85056413693

SN - 0007-1161

VL - 103

SP - 871

EP - 877

JO - British Journal of Ophthalmology

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Prevalence and causes of blindness and vision impairment: Magnitude, temporal trends and projections in South and Central Asia

Abstract

Bibliographical note

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