The global burden of visual difficulty in low, middle, and high income countries

Using a world-wide, population-based dataset of adults, we sought to determine the frequency of far visual difficulty and its associated risk factors. The World Health Survey (WHS) was conducted in 70 countries throughout the world in 2003 using a random, multi-stage, stratified, cluster sampling de...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2013-05, Vol.8 (5), p.e63315-e63315
Main Authors: Freeman, Ellen E, Roy-Gagnon, Marie-Hélène, Samson, Elodie, Haddad, Slim, Aubin, Marie-Josée, Vela, Claudia, Zunzunegui, Maria Victoria
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adults
Cataracts
Developed Countries
Developing Countries
Diabetes mellitus
Diabetic retinopathy
Estimates
Ethics
Global Health
Health aspects
Health Surveys
High income
Households
Humans
Income
Measuring instruments
Medicine
Middle Aged
Population
Prevalence
Principal components analysis
Risk analysis
Risk Factors
Sampling designs
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Socioeconomics
Validity
Vision
Vision Disorders - epidemiology
Visual aspects
Visual impairment
Vitamin A
Young Adult
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Summary:Using a world-wide, population-based dataset of adults, we sought to determine the frequency of far visual difficulty and its associated risk factors. The World Health Survey (WHS) was conducted in 70 countries throughout the world in 2003 using a random, multi-stage, stratified, cluster sampling design of adults ages 18 years and older. Far vision was assessed by asking "In the last 30 days, how much difficulty did you have in seeing and recognizing a person you know across the road (i.e. from a distance of about 20 meters)?". Responses included none, mild, moderate, severe, or extreme/unable. The income status of countries was estimated using gross national income per capita data from 2003 from the World Bank. Prevalence and regression estimates were adjusted to account for the complex sample design. 21% of adults reported any visual difficulty. The rate varied by the income status of the country with the percentage who had any visual difficulty being 24%, 23%, and 13% in low, middle, and high income countries, respectively. Five percent of people reported severe or extreme visual difficulty with rates in low, middle, and high income countries of 6%, 5%, and 2% respectively. Risk factors for visual difficulty included older age, female sex, poorer socioeconomic status, little to no formal education, and diabetes (P
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0063315