Prevalence and causes of vision loss in sub-Saharan Africa in 2015: magnitude, temporal trends and projections. Issue 12 (30th March 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Naidoo, Kovin; Kempen, John H; Gichuhi, Stephen; Braithwaite, Tasanee; Casson, Robert J; Cicinelli, Maria Vittoria; Das, Aditi; Flaxman, Seth R; Jonas, Jost B; Keeffe, Jill Elizabeth; Leasher, Janet; Limburg, Hans; Pesudovs, Konrad; Resnikoff, Serge; Silvester, Alexander J; Tahhan, Nina; Taylor, Hugh R; Wong, Tien Y; Bourne, Rupert R A
• Other Names: author non-byline.; Bourne Rupert author non-byline.; Ackland Peter author non-byline.; Arditi Aries author non-byline.; barkana yaniv author non-byline.; Bozkurt Banu author non-byline.; TASANEE BRAITHWAITE author non-byline.; Bron Alain author non-byline.; Budenz Donald author non-byline.; Cai Feng author non-byline.; Casson Robert author non-byline.; Chakravarthy Usha author non-byline.; Choi Jaewan author non-byline.; Cicinelli Maria Vittoria author non-byline.; Congdon Nathan author non-byline.; Dana Reza author non-byline.; Dandona Rakhi author non-byline.; Dandona Lalit author non-byline.; Das Aditi author non-byline.; Dekaris Iva author non-byline.; Monte Del Monte MD author non-byline.; deva jenny author non-byline.; Dirani Mohamed author non-byline.; Dreer Laura author non-byline.; Ellwein Leon author non-byline.; Frazier Marcela author non-byline.; Frick Kevin author non-byline.; Friedman David author non-byline.; Furtado Joao author non-byline.; Gao Hua author non-byline.; Gazzard Andrew author non-byline.; George Ronnie author non-byline.; Gichuhi Stephen author non-byline.; Gonzalez Victor author non-byline.; Hammond Billy author non-byline.; Hartnett Mary Elizabeth author non-byline.; He Minguang author non-byline.; Hejtmancik James author non-byline.; Hirai Flavio author non-byline.; Huang John author non-byline.; Ingram April author non-byline.; Javitt Jonathan author non-byline.; Jonas Jost author non-byline.; Joslin Charlotte author non-byline.; Keeffe Jill author non-byline.; Kempen John author non-byline.; Khairallah Moncef author non-byline.; Khanna Rohit author non-byline.; Kim Judy author non-byline.; Lambrou George author non-byline.; Lansingh Van Charles author non-byline.; Lanzetta Paolo author non-byline.; Leasher Janet author non-byline.; Lim Jennifer author non-byline.; Hans LIMBURG author non-byline.; Mansouri Kaweh author non-byline.; Mathew Anu author non-byline.; Morse Alan author non-byline.; Munoz Beatriz author non-byline.; Musch David author non-byline.; Naidoo Kovin author non-byline.; Nangia Vinay author non-byline.; MARIA PALAIOU author non-byline.; Parodi Maurizio Battaglia author non-byline.; Pena Fernando Yaacov author non-byline.; Pesudovs Konrad author non-byline.; Peto Tunde author non-byline.; Quigley Harry author non-byline.; Raju Murugesan author non-byline.; Ramulu Pradeep author non-byline.; Resnikoff Serge author non-byline.; Reza Dana author non-byline.; Robin Alan author non-byline.; Rossetti Luca author non-byline.; Saaddine Jinan author non-byline.; SANDAR MYA author non-byline.; Serle Janet author non-byline.; Shen Tueng author non-byline.; Shetty Rajesh author non-byline.; Sieving Pamela author non-byline.; Silva Juan Carlos author non-byline.; Silvester Alex author non-byline.; Sitorus Rita S. author non-byline.; Stambolian Dwight author non-byline.; Stevens Gretchen author non-byline.; Taylor Hugh author non-byline.; Tejedor Jaime author non-byline.; Tielsch James author non-byline.; Topouzis Fotis author non-byline.; Tsilimbaris Miltiadis author non-byline.; Meurs Jan van author non-byline.; Varma Rohit author non-byline.; Virgili Gianni author non-byline.; Volmink Jimmy author non-byline.; Wang Ya Xing author non-byline.; Ning-Li Wang Sheila West author non-byline.; Wiedemann Peter author non-byline.; Wong Tien author non-byline.; Wormald Richard author non-byline.; Zheng Yingfeng author non-byline.; Flaxman Seth author non-byline.;
• Is Part Of: British journal of ophthalmology. Volume 104:Issue 12(2020)
• Page Start: 1658
• Page End: 1668
• Publication Date: 2020-03-30
• Subjects: public health -- epidemiology; Ophthalmology -- Periodicals; 617.7
• DOI: 10.1136/bjophthalmol-2019-315217
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0007-1161

Abstract

Abstract : Background: This study aimed to assess the prevalence and causes of vision loss in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in 2015, compared with prior years, and to estimate expected values for 2020. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the prevalence of blindness (presenting distance visual acuity <3/60 in the better eye), moderate and severe vision impairment (MSVI; presenting distance visual acuity <6/18 but ≥3/60) and mild vision impairment (MVI; presenting distance visual acuity <6/12 and ≥6/18), and also near vision impairment (<N6 or N8 in the presence of ≥6/12 best-corrected distance visual acuity) in SSA for 1990, 2010, 2015 and 2020. In SSA, age-standardised prevalence of blindness, MSVI and MVI in 2015 were 1.03% (80% uncertainty interval (UI) 0.39–1.81), 3.64% (80% UI 1.71–5.94) and 2.94% (80% UI 1.05–5.34), respectively, for male and 1.08% (80% UI 0.40–1.93), 3.84% (80% UI 1.72–6.37) and 3.06% (80% UI 1.07–5.61) for females, constituting a significant decrease since 2010 for both genders. There were an estimated 4.28 million blind individuals and 17.36 million individuals with MSVI; 101.08 million individuals were estimated to have near vision loss due to presbyopia. Cataract was the most common cause of blindness (40.1%), whereas undercorrected refractive error (URE) (48.5%) was the most common cause of MSVI. Sub-Saharan West Africa had the highest proportion of blindness compared with the other SSA subregions. Conclusions: Cataract and URE, two of the major causes of blindness and vision impairment, are reversible with treatment and thus promising targets to alleviate vision impairment in SSA.