PREVALENCE AND CAUSES OF VISION IMPAIRMENT AND BLINDNESS IN OLDER ADULTS IN AN URBAN CENSUS SECTOR OF PARINTINS, BRAZILIAN AMAZON REGION

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate prevalence and causes of vision impairment/blindness in older adults from an urban census sector of Parintins, Brazil

Methods: An urban census sector was conveniently chosen for its proximity to the eye clinic for ophthalmic assessment. Subjects were enumerated through a door-to-door survey and those with ages 45 years and older were invited for measurement of presenting and best-corrected visual acuity and an ocular examination. The principal cause of visual impairment/blindness was identified for eyes with presenting visual acuity less than 20/32

Results: A total of 178 eligible persons in 136 households were enumerated, and 144 (80.9%) examined. The prevalence of presenting visual acuity>20/32 in both eyes was 70.7% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 60.2% - 79.7%), and 79.5% (95% CI: 71.0% - 86.4%) with best correction. The prevalence of presenting visual impairment (<20/63->20/200) in the better eye was 20.7% (95% CI: 12.9% - 30.4%), and 15.4% (95% CI: 9.4% - 23.2%) with best correction. The prevalence of presenting bilateral blindness (<20/200 in both eyes) was 8.70% (95% CI: 3.8% - 16.4%), and 5.13% (95% CI: 1.9% - 10.8%) with best correction. Presenting and best-corrected blindness and vision impairment were associated with lack of schooling and older age. Cataract (27.6%), retinal disorders (20.7%) and corneal scar/opacities (13.8%) were the most common causes of blind eyes. Uncorrected refractive errors (40.4%) and cataract (40.4%) were the main causes of vision impairment<20/63 to >20/200, with uncorrected refractive errors (85.4%) and cataract (12.2%) as main causes of mild vision impairment <20/32 to ≥20/63

Conclusions: The current results indicate that visual impairment and blindness is a significant problem in older adults from this small urban area of the Brazilian Amazon region. Blindness and vision impairment prevalence from this area was four to five times higher than those found in a previous population-based study in a large urban area of Sao Paulo, Brazil. There is an urgent need to implement prevention of blindness programs for older adults with emphasis on those without schooling

Keywords: 463 clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: prevalence/incidence