Ayobi Benedict, Hansraj Rekha, Rampersad Nishanee, Urimubenshi Gerard
Discipline of Optometry, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.
Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, Kigali, Rwanda.
J Public Health Afr. 2025 Jul 31;16(1):1273. doi: 10.4102/jphia.v16i1.1273. eCollection 2025.
Vision impairment (VI) affects the quality of life of individuals; it negatively impacts education, mobility and socioeconomic life, leading to dependency. Increased life expectancy is expected to drive a corresponding rise in the prevalence of VI. Timely and effective efforts are required to reduce the burden of VI. Accurate and up-to-date data regarding the prevalence and causes of VI are essential for practical planning to address its challenges and impact. This review therefore presents the prevalence of VI in East Africa.
This review sought to report the prevalence of VI in East Africa.
The study was conducted using findings of studies on VI from East Africa.
A search of published literature was conducted using online databases including PubMed, Ovid, Science Direct, Google Scholar, Embase and Medline. The search was restricted to sources published in English and in peer-reviewed journals from January 2010 to November 2023. Only studies that stated the prevalence and causes of VI among the general population during the period in question were included.
Twenty nine studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in this review. The prevalence of VI reported in East Africa by the studies reviewed ranged from 1.6% to 42.1%.
The reported prevalence of VI in East Africa is higher than that reported in other regions of Africa and globally.
The review highlights the need for adequate strategies and support to be channelled towards making eye care accessible and affordable in East Africa including the training of more eye health personnel.
视力障碍会影响个人生活质量；对教育、出行及社会经济生活产生负面影响，导致生活依赖。预期寿命的延长预计将推动视力障碍患病率相应上升。需要及时采取有效措施减轻视力障碍负担。有关视力障碍患病率及病因的准确和最新数据对于应对其挑战及影响的实际规划至关重要。因此，本综述介绍了东非地区视力障碍的患病率。
本综述旨在报告东非地区视力障碍的患病率。
本研究采用了东非地区视力障碍研究的结果。
通过在线数据库进行文献检索，包括PubMed、Ovid、Science Direct、Google Scholar、Embase和Medline。检索仅限于2010年1月至2023年11月期间以英文发表且经过同行评审的期刊来源。仅纳入在相关期间陈述了普通人群中视力障碍患病率及病因的研究。
29项研究符合纳入标准并被纳入本综述。经审查的研究报告的东非地区视力障碍患病率在1.6%至42.1%之间。
报告的东非地区视力障碍患病率高于非洲其他地区及全球的报告患病率。
本综述强调需要制定适当的策略并提供支持，以便在东非地区提供可及且负担得起的眼保健服务，包括培训更多的眼保健人员。
