Researchers say blind population in Oman is growing

Despite initiatives to prevent blindness in the Middle Eastern country of Oman, the number of blind people there has increased, according to local researchers.

In 2005, Rajiv Khandekar, MD, and colleagues conducted a prevalence survey of blindness and low vision among Oman citizens aged 40 years and older and compared the results with those of a similar survey conducted in 1997 to assess the efficacy of Vision 2020 initiatives.

The survey included 24 randomly selected clusters of 75 houses each. Investigators examined the fundus and anterior segments of participants to determine the causes of existing disabilities. They also measured the visual fields of patients with suspected glaucoma, according to the study.

Compared with the results of the 1997 survey, the researchers found that the rate of disability had declined, but the number of blind people had increased. In 2005, there was an 8.25% prevalence of blindness compared with 7.23% in 1997 among people of the same age group. Also in 2005, there was a 12% prevalence of legal blindness and a 45.12% prevalence of low vision, according to the study.

"Between the two surveys, the prevalence of blindness due to corneal pathology declined from 1.9% to 1.1%, but that of blindness due to unoperated cataract increased from 1.8% to 2.3%," the study authors said.

The authors also concluded that causes of blindness had shifted from avoidable diseases to chronic diseases. "An increasing number of operations for cataract and improvements in the care for glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy are recommended," they said. The study is published in the January/February issue of Ophthalmic Epidemiology.