Community Ophthalmology, Dr. R P Centre, AIIMS, New Delhi, India.
Ophthalmology, Dr. R P Centre, AIIMS, New Delhi, India.
PLoS One. 2022 Jul 21;17(7):e0271736. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0271736. eCollection 2022.
Avoidable blindness is a significant public health problem in India. Nationally representative RAAB surveys (Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness) are being conducted periodically in the country to know the current status of blindness in the country. The current study describes the findings from the RAAB survey conducted during 2015-19 in India.
A cross-sectional, population-based survey was conducted across the entire country among persons aged 50 years and above using RAAB version 6 methodology. Presenting and pinhole visual acuity was recorded followed by lens examination using a torchlight. In order to estimate the prevalence of blindness and visual impairment in overall population in India, district weights were assigned to each of the 31 surveyed districts and the prevalence was standardized using the RAAB software.
The overall weighted, age-gender standardized, prevalence of blindness (presenting visual acuity <3/60 in better eye) in population aged ≥50 years was 1.99% (95% CI 1.94%, 2.13%) and of visual impairment (VI) (presenting visual acuity <6/12 in better eye) was 26.68% (95% CI 26.57-27.17%). On multivariate analysis, adjusted odds ratio showed that blindness was associated with age ≥ 80 years (OR = 20.3, 95% CI: 15.6-26.4) and being illiterate (OR = 5.6, 95% CI: 3.6-8.9). Blindness was not found to be significantly associated with either gender or locality.
The results of the survey demonstrate that currently more than one fourth of persons aged 50 years and above are visually impaired (PVA<6/12 in better eye) in India. The prevalence of blindness among them is 1.99%, and older age and illiteracy are significantly associated with blindness. Major causes of blindness included cataract (66.2%), corneal opacity (CO) (8.2%), cataract surgical complications (7.2%), posterior segment disorders (5.9%) and glaucoma (5.5%). The proportion of blindness and visual impairment that is due to avoidable causes include 92.9% and 97.4% respectively.
可避免盲是印度一个重大的公共卫生问题。印度定期开展全国范围内的 RAAB 调查（快速可避免盲评估），以了解该国当前的盲情。本研究描述了 2015-19 年在印度进行的 RAAB 调查的结果。
采用 RAAB 版本 6 方法，在全国范围内对 50 岁及以上人群进行了一项横断面、基于人群的调查。记录了眼前和小孔视力，然后使用手电筒进行晶状体检查。为了估计印度总人口中盲和视力损伤的患病率，为 31 个调查区中的每一个区分配了区权重，并使用 RAAB 软件对患病率进行了标准化。
≥50 岁人群中，加权、年龄性别标准化后，总盲率（最佳眼视力<3/60）为 1.99%（95%CI：1.94%，2.13%），视力损伤率（最佳眼视力<6/12）为 26.68%（95%CI：26.57%，27.17%）。多变量分析显示，调整后的比值比表明，盲与年龄≥80 岁（OR=20.3，95%CI：15.6-26.4）和文盲（OR=5.6，95%CI：3.6-8.9）有关。性别或地区与盲均无显著相关性。
该调查结果表明，目前印度有超过四分之一的 50 岁及以上人群视力受损（最佳眼视力<6/12）。其中盲的患病率为 1.99%，年龄较大和文盲与盲显著相关。盲的主要原因包括白内障（66.2%）、角膜混浊（CO）（8.2%）、白内障手术并发症（7.2%）、后段疾病（5.9%）和青光眼（5.5%）。可避免原因导致的盲和视力损伤比例分别为 92.9%和 97.4%。
