Rapid assessment of avoidable blindness in Kurdistan, Iran

Abstract

Purpose: To determine the magnitude and causes of blindness and visual impairment (VI) in Kurdistan, using the Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness methodology. Methods: In this population-based cross sectional study, 99 clusters were selected through probability proportional to size sampling. Visual acuity (VA) was measured using a standard tumbling “E” chart. Ophthalmologists examined participants with VA < 6/18 in both eyes. The cause of VI in the better eye or the most treatable cause was considered as the primary cause of VI. Results: A total of 3203 (response rate: 92.4%) individuals aged 50 years and older participated, of whom 1657 (51.7%) were female. The standardized prevalence of blindness, severe visual impairment (SVI), and moderate visual impairment (MVI) based on available correction (presenting VA) were 2.1% (1.5-2.6), 1.7% (1.2-2.2), and 9.6%(8.4-10.8), respectively. The proportion of avoidable causes of blindness, SVI, and MVI were 58.1%, 78.4%, and 83.4%, respectively. The most common cause of blindness and SVI was cataract (27.4% and 60.8% respectively), followed by age-related macular degeneration (25.8% and 13.7%, respectively). The leading causes of MVI were uncorrected refractive errors (RE) (37.2%) and cataract (33.6%). Conclusion: The prevalence of blindness in the study population seems comparable to the region. According to our results, blindness, SVI, and MVI were mostly due to avoidable causes. Cataract and refractive errors are the principal causes of blindness and VI in Kurdistan.

The Newest Solutions in Using Cartography for Blind and Partially Impaired People in Kurdistan Region, Iraq

“…These are the primary target population of the study. Ashrafi et al (2019) noted that present data on Kurdistan indicates the region will experience increased life expectancy and shifts in demographics in the coming years, which are likely to contribute to more people having visual impairments if appropriate preventative and curative measures remain unavailable. However, for those already visually impaired, improving efficiency and independence is the primary, and interactive tangible maps represent one of the strategies heralded as revolutionary in the field.…”

“…In addition, data on visual impairment in the province is limited or unavailable, creating challenges in motivating stakeholders to take the problem seriously. Nevertheless, existing studies on visual impairment conducted on people aged over 50 years established 13.4% of them to suffer from the condition, representing over half a million individuals (Ashrafi et al, 2019;Kallestrup, 2019).…”

“…Existing evidence shows that preventable causes account for more than 75% of visual impairment cases, suggesting a major concern (Ashrafi et al, 2019). There is the likelihood that many visually impaired people develop the conditions in their childhood.…”