Prevalence and causes of vision impairment and blindness in older adults in Brazil: the São Paulo eye study

Salomão, Solange Rios [UNIFESP]; Cinoto, Rafael Werneck [UNIFESP]; Berezovsky, Adriana [UNIFESP]; Araujo Filho, Arnaud [UNIFESP]; Mitsuhiro, Marcia R. K. H. [UNIFESP]; Mendieta, Luana [UNIFESP]; Morales, Paulo Henrique de Avila [UNIFESP]; Pokharel, Gopal P.; Belfort, Rubens Junior [UNIFESP]; Ellwein, Leon B.

Prevalence and causes of vision impairment and blindness in older adults in Brazil: the São Paulo eye study

Data

2008-01-01

Autores

Salomão, Solange Rios

Cinoto, Rafael Werneck

Berezovsky, Adriana

Araujo Filho, Arnaud

Mitsuhiro, Marcia R. K. H.

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Tipo

Artigo

Resumo

Purpose: Investigate prevalence and causes of vision impairment/blindness in older adults in a low-middle income area of São Paulo, Brazil. Methods: Cluster sampling, based on geographically defined census sectors, was used in randomly selecting cross-sectionally persons 50 years of age or older. Subjects were enumerated through a door-to-door survey and invited for measurement of presenting and best-corrected visual acuity and an ocular examination. the principal cause was identified for eyes with presenting visual acuity less than 20/32. Results: A total of 4,224 eligible persons in 2,870 households were enumerated, and 3,678 (87.1%) examined. the prevalence of presenting visual acuity 20/32 in both eyes was 61.6% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 59.4%-63.9%), and 80.4% (95% CI: 78.8%-82.1%) with best correction. the prevalence of visual impairment ( 20/63 to 20/200) in the better eye was 4.74% (95% CI: 3.97%-5.53%), and 2.00% (95% CI: 1.52%-2.49%) with best correction. the prevalence of presenting bilateral blindness ( 20/200) was 1.51% (95% CI: 1.20%-1.82%), and 1.07% (95% CI: 0.79%-1.35%) with best correction. Presenting blindness was associated with older age and lack of schooling. Retinal disorders (35.3%) and cataract (28.3%) were the most common causes of blind eyes. Cataract (33.2%), refractive error (32.3%), and retinal disorders (20.3%) were the main causes of vision impairment 20/63 to 20/200, with refractive error (76.8%) and cataract (12.2%) as main causes for eyes with acuity 20/32 to 20/63. Conclusions: Vision impairment is a significant problem in older Brazilians reinforcing the need to implement prevention of blindness programs for elderly people with emphasis on those without schooling.

Citação

Ophthalmic Epidemiology. Philadelphia: Taylor & Francis Inc, v. 15, n. 3, p. 167-175, 2008.