Roba Assegid A, Chagunda Margarida, Machissa Tiago S
Grady Health System, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Maputo Central Hospital, Maputo, Mozambique.
J Public Health Afr. 2020 Oct 22;11(1):1113. doi: 10.4081/jphia.2020.1113. eCollection 2020 Apr 29.
Although the correlation between visual impairment and poverty has been established, economic assessment is not a standard component of blindness surveys. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of avoidable blindness and its association with poverty in Sofala province of Mozambique. As part of a Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness, 94% of a random sample of 3600 people >50 years responded to questions regarding daily per capita expenditure. The WHO definition of blindness (presenting visual acuity <3/60) was used to determine the visual status of participants, and the World Bank's threshold of living on <$1.25 International Dollar a day demarcated the poverty line. The prevalence of blindness was 3.2% [95% Confidence Interval (CI): 2.6, 3.8]. People living below the poverty line had significantly greater odds of being blind [Odds Ratio (OR): 2.6 (CI: 1.6 to 4.5)]. Age above 60 [OR: 7.0 [CI: 4.6 to 10.80] predicted blindness but the association with illiteracy, gender or rural residence was not significant. Blindness disproportionately affects people living below the poverty line. Development initiatives could augment the impact of blindness prevention programs. Measuring poverty should become a standard component of visual impairment surveys.
尽管视力损害与贫困之间的关联已得到确认，但经济评估并非失明调查的标准组成部分。本研究的目的是确定莫桑比克索法拉省可避免失明的患病率及其与贫困的关联。作为可避免失明快速评估的一部分，对3600名50岁以上人群的随机样本中94%的人进行了关于每日人均支出问题的调查。采用世界卫生组织的失明定义（视力<3/60）来确定参与者的视力状况，世界银行设定的每日生活费低于1.25国际美元的标准划定了贫困线。失明患病率为3.2%[95%置信区间（CI）：2.6，3.8]。生活在贫困线以下的人失明几率显著更高[优势比（OR）：2.6（CI：1.6至4.5）]。60岁以上人群[OR：7.0（CI：4.6至10.80）]预示失明，但与文盲、性别或农村居住情况的关联不显著。失明对生活在贫困线以下的人影响尤为严重。发展举措可增强失明预防项目的影响。衡量贫困应成为视力损害调查的标准组成部分。
