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Eunice Amador Rosa M, Lozano Bustillo A, Espinoza Salvadó I, Sierra M, Rivera B. Prevalence and Causes of Avoidable Blindness in Subjects Over 50 Years of Age in Honduras. JOVR [Internet]. 2022Apr.29 [cited 2024Apr.25];17(2):225–232. Available from: https://knepublishing.com/index.php/JOVR/article/view/10794

https://doi.org/10.18502/jovr.v17i2.10794

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authors

  • Mariel Eunice Amador Rosa

    Mariel Eunice Amador Rosa

    Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH)
  • Alejandra Lozano Bustillo

    Alejandra Lozano Bustillo

    Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH)
    https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2131-3634
  • Iván Espinoza Salvadó

    Iván Espinoza Salvadó

    Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH)
  • Manuel Sierra

    Manuel Sierra

    Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH)
  • Belinda Rivera

    Belinda Rivera

    Ophthalmology Specialist in San Felipe General Hospital

Published Date

  • Apr 29, 2022
This journal is publishing all the articles under Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0.

Prevalence and Causes of Avoidable Blindness in Subjects Over 50 Years of Age in Honduras

Journal of Ophthalmic and Vision Research (JOVR) / April–June 2022, Volume 17, Issue 2 / Pages 225–232

Abstract

Purpose: To describe the prevalence and causes of avoidable blindness in people aged 50 and over in the areas of influence of doctors in social service during the years 2018–2019.


Methods: This observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study, with analysis of association of variables, was conducted on patients 50 years and older at the national level, selected under simple random sampling, where sociodemographic variables, background, and clinical characteristics were studied. An ophthalmological clinical examination was performed with prior informed consent, and the information was processed and analyzed using Epi Info 7.2 statistical package and SPSS version 25.


Results: Overall, 7992 people were evaluated, with a mean age of 62 years; 60.8% (4861) were women and 39.2% (3131) were men. The prevalence of blindness for both eyes was 4.5% (356/7992, 95% CI: 4.1–5.1%, p < 0.001). The prevalence of severe and moderate visual impairment was 1.5% (118/127) and 12.9% (1029)/12.6% (1004) for the right and left eyes, respectively. The main causes of blindness were cataract, refractive error, and glaucoma.


Conclusion: The prevalence of avoidable blindness found in the study was higher than expected and the respective causes were consistent with previous studies. Consequently, it is recommended to implement health policies aimed at the prevention and management of avoidable blindness.

Keywords:

Blindness, Cataract, Honduras, Prevalence

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