April 2014
Volume 55, Issue 13
Free
ARVO Annual Meeting Abstract  |   April 2014
Prevalence and Causes of Vision Loss in North Africa and the Middle East: 1990-2010.
Moncef Khairallah; Rim Kahloun; Jost B Jonas; Jill Keeffe; Kovin Shunmugam Naidoo; Serge Resnikoff; Hugh R Taylor; Rupert Bourne; Vision Loss Expert Group
Author Affiliations & Notes
  • Moncef Khairallah
    Fattouma Bourguiba University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, University of Monastir, Monastir, Tunisia
  • Rim Kahloun
    Fattouma Bourguiba University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, University of Monastir, Monastir, Tunisia
  • Jost B Jonas
    Department of Ophthalmology, Universitätsmedizin, Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
  • Jill Keeffe
    Centre for Eye Research Australia, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  • Kovin Shunmugam Naidoo
    African Vision Research Institute, University of Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa & Brien Holden Vision Institute, Sydney, Australia, Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa
  • Serge Resnikoff
    International Health and Development, Geneva, Switzerland
  • Hugh R Taylor
    Melbourne School of Population Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  • Rupert Bourne
    Vision & Eye Research Unit, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, United Kingdom
  • Footnotes
    Commercial Relationships Moncef Khairallah, None; Rim Kahloun, None; Jost Jonas, None; Jill Keeffe, None; Kovin Naidoo, None; Serge Resnikoff, None; Hugh Taylor, None; Rupert Bourne, None
  • Footnotes
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Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science April 2014, Vol.55, 4159. doi:
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      Moncef Khairallah, Rim Kahloun, Jost B Jonas, Jill Keeffe, Kovin Shunmugam Naidoo, Serge Resnikoff, Hugh R Taylor, Rupert Bourne, Vision Loss Expert Group; Prevalence and Causes of Vision Loss in North Africa and the Middle East: 1990-2010.. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2014;55(13):4159.

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Abstract

Purpose: To examine vision impairment and its changes from 1990 to 2010 in North Africa and the Middle East (NAME).

Methods: Based on a systematic review of medical literature, we examined prevalence and causes of moderate and severe vision impairment (MSVI; presenting visual acuity <6/18, ≥3/60) and blindness (presenting visual acuity <3/60).

Results: In NAME, the age-standardized prevalence of blindness decreased from 2.1% to 1.1% and MSVI from 7.1% to 4.5%. In 2010, 3.119 million people were blind, and 13.700 million had MSVI. Women were generally more often affected than men. Main causes of blindness were cataract, uncorrected refractive error, macular degeneration, and glaucoma. Main causes of MSVI were cataract and uncorrected refractive errors. Proportions of blindness and MSVI from trachoma significantly decreased.

Conclusions: Although the absolute numbers of people with blindness and MSVI increased from 1990 to 2010, the overall age-specific prevalences of blindness and MSVI and the prevalences in people aged 50 years decreased significantly. Cataract and uncorrected refractive error were the major causes of blindness and MSVI.

Keywords: 463 clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: prevalence/incidence  
© 2014, The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc., all rights reserved. Permission to republish any abstract or part of an abstract in any form must be obtained in writing from the ARVO Office prior to publication.
Copyright © 2024 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.
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