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Most vision impairment in certain regions could be prevented
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The world’s growing population is causing a substantial increase in the number of people with blindness and vision impairment, a trend that is accelerating, according to a study from the Brien Holden Vision Institute and the WHO’s Global Action Plan.
Researchers highlight the need to respond to WHO’s plan by increasing current efforts at global, regional and country levels to eliminate the burden of unnecessary blindness and vision impairment.
The systematic review and meta-analysis of population-based datasets regarding global vision impairment and blindness included research published between 1980 and 2015.
In 2015, the global population was 7.33 billion, of which 36 million were blind, 216.6 million had moderate to severe visual impairment, and 188.5 million had mild visual impairment.
Functional presbyopia affected an estimated 1.1 billion people 35 years and older, with 666.7 million being 50 years or older.
The estimated number of people with blindness in 1990 to 2015 increased by 17.6% from 30.6 million to 36 million, respectively.
Researchers attributed the increase to population growth, population aging after accounting for population growth and reduction in age-specific prevalence.
The Universal Eye Health: A Global Action Plan 2014-2019 was adopted by WHO member states at the World Health Assembly in 2013. The goal is to reduce the prevalence of avoidable vision impairment by 25% from 2010 to 2019.
Researchers added 61 new studies to the Global Vision Database, for a total of 288 studies contributing data from 98 countries.
The largest number of blind people resided in south Asia, followed by east Asia and southeast Asia.
Moderate and severe vision impairment affected 216.6 million people globally, of whom 55% were female.
“Although this study does not directly assess the causes of vision impairment, the large disparities between regions ... suggest that most cases of vision impairment in lesser-developed countries could be prevented or reversed,” according to researchers.
Vision interventions are economically feasible and require limited infrastructure and lower costs and offer high potential for cost recovery when compared to other health interventions, researchers concluded, even in less developed areas. – by Abigail Sutton
Disclosure: Please see the full study for all authors’ financial disclosures.
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