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Most people with near vision impairment in rural settings lack access to spectacles, study says
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The majority of people experience correctable near vision impairment by age 50, and most of those requiring near refractive correction in rural settings do not have access to spectacle correction, according to a study.
The population-based, cross-sectional study included 14,805 people aged at least 35 years. The study was conducted at seven sites in six countries, including rural settings in China, Nepal, India and Niger; a semi-urban setting in South Africa; and urban settings in China and the United States.
The researchers found that 60% of study participants experienced at least mild near vision impairment, with the rate exceeding 90% in those aged at least 70 years.
More than 90% of participants in rural settings in need of near refractive correction lacked access to spectacles, while only 40% of participants in urban settings requiring correction lacked access, according to the study.
Uncorrected near vision impairment was more prevalent among older people (P < .001) and women (P = .027); no significant associated was found with education level.
“Although we did not attempt to assess accommodation loss, it is reasonable to connect the dramatic age-specific rise in uncorrected near vision impairment with the onset of presbyopia,” the study authors said. “Our interest was not in presbyopia, but in the age-specific prevalence of near vision impairment, whatever the cause, because it is directly related to the need for correction and the unmet need for correction.”
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