We enjoyed reading the article by Laviers et al.,
1 describing a methodology, appended to a RAAB (rapid assessment of avoidable blindness) survey, for measuring the prevalence of presbyopia and presbyopic spectacle coverage. The article provides more evidence of the importance of presbyopia as a condition affecting quality of life, even among those who may not read. It was interesting that there was no difference in coverage between males and females.
By simply adding a question asking each participant if he or she owned near-vision spectacles we learned several interesting things during the Kilimanjaro RAAB.
2 Overall spectacle ownership was 10.9% (95% CI, 9.9–11.9), and the men were 1.42 times (95% CI, 1.14–1.76) more likely than the women to have spectacles. Of interest, people 50 to 70 years of age were 1.42 times (95% CI, 1.11–1.81) more likely to have spectacles than those older, independent of presenting visual acuity. Finally, there were significant differences in spectacle ownership among the different clusters making up the RAAB sample, suggesting that availability of spectacles in the village is an important factor. Sex, age, and cluster all remained associated with spectacle ownership in multiple logistic regression (
P = 0.001, 0.05, and <0.001, respectively). That (independent of visual acuity) the individuals aged 50 to 70 years were more likely to have spectacles than were the older individuals (who presumably need them more) may indicate more demand for good vision and more willingness to pay for it in the younger group. It could also mean that the older people did not have enough money for spectacles.
Spectacle ownership in a population-based group older than age 50 is not exactly the same as presbyopic spectacle coverage in the same group; however, it is a reasonable proxy for coverage, adds nothing to the cost of the RAAB, and provides valuable information for planners.