Prevalence and Risk Factors for Near and Far Visual Difficulty in Burkina Faso: The World Health Survey

Abstract

Purpose: : To determine the prevalence and risk factors for near and far visual difficulty in Burkina Faso.

Methods: : Population-based data were used from the World Health Survey done in Burkina Faso in 2002-2003 (n=4,822 adults ages 18+). ). A multi-stage stratified random cluster sampling strategy was used. Participants answered a face-to-face interviewer-administered questionnaire that was administered in one of three local languages with independent back-translation of key terms. Near and far visual difficulty were assessed by questions about the level of difficulty seeing and recognizing an object at arm’s length and about difficulty seeing and recognizing a person across the road. People who responded that they had mild, moderate, severe, or extreme difficulty or were unable to do the task were defined as having visual difficulty. Logistic regression was used to identify demographic, dietary, or environmental risk factors. Prevalence estimates and standard errors were corrected for the complex sampling design and for non-response.

Results: : The overall prevalence of any near and far visual difficulty was 10% (SE=0.7%) and 13% (SE=0.9%) respectively. Prevalence estimates were strongly associated with age with 48% (SE=4.2%) and 66% (SE=3.9%) of those ≥65 years old having near or far visual difficulty (P<0.001). Only 5% (SE=0.6%) of people wore glasses or contact lenses. We identified two potentially modifiable variables associated with near visual difficulty: a cooking stove in the same room as the sleeping area (OR=1.45, 95% CI 1.01, 2.02) and a high fruit consumption (OR=0.65, 95% CI 0.50, 0.86).

Conclusions: : The prevalence of visual difficulty was high in Burkina Faso, especially in older adults, while use of eyeglasses was rare. Efforts to confirm these findings with cooking stove location and fruit consumption should be undertaken in this population.

Keywords: clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: risk factor assessment • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: prevalence/incidence