AIM: to assess the prevalence and causes of blindness and visual impairment in persons 50 years and above in Plateau state
METHOD: seventy clusters of 60 persons 50 years and above were selected by probability proportional to size. Households were selected by the random walk method and all persons eligible in the household had their eyes examined. Visual acuity was assessed with the Snellen chart and all persons with visual acuity less than 6/18 in any eye had the eye examined to determine the major cause of blindness/visual impairment.
RESULTS: 4115 persons (98% response rate) were examined. Bilateral blindness prevalence was 4.2% (95% CI: 4.1-4.3). The prevalence of severe visual impairment was 6.7% (95% CI: 6.5-6.9) while that for visual impairment was 15.8% (95% CI: 15.3-16.3). 80% of the causes of blindness, 83% of the causes of severe visual impairment and 88% of the causes of visual impairment were avoidable with cataract, uncorrected Aphakia and refractive errors being the major causes.
CONCLUSION: the prevalence of blindness and visual impairment are high and most of the causes are avoidable. There is a need to develop an eye care plan including cataract surgery and refraction services to reduce the causes of blindness and visual impairment.
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