J Clin Ophthalmol Eye Disord | Volume 5, Issue 2 | Research Article | Open Access
Bizuneh ZY*, Andualem HB and Mengistu MA
Department of Ophthalmology, St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College, Ethiopia
*Correspondance to: Zewdu Yenegeta Bizuneh
Fulltext PDFClinical Relevance: The human being understands 75% to 90% of our environment through our vision. Inability to develop this normal visual development, visual impairment, can affect our daily performance and results considerable social, psychological, and economic implications for the patients, their caregivers and for the country at large. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine prevalence and associated factors of visual impairment among adults in Gish Abay town, North West Ethiopia. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 660 adults who were selected using systematic random sampling from April to May 2018. Data were entered into Epi Info version 7 and were analyzed by SPSS version 23. Visual examinations were done with Snellen visual acuity and ocular pathology assessments were done by optometrists. Binary and multivariable logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with visual impairment. Variables with P-value <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Result: A total of 626 participants were included in the study with a 94.8% response rate. The median age of participants was 33 years (IQR: 24 to 51 years). The prevalence of visual impairment was 6.7% (95% CI: 4.3-9.8). The main cause of VI were uncorrected refractive error (62%) followed by cataract (19%). The prevalence of low vision was 2.3% and blindness was 0.8%. Positive family history of ocular disease (AOR: 4.9; 2.85, 8.99), age ≥ 52 years (AOR: 4.85; 3.09, 7.21), history of ocular trauma (AOR: 2.55; 1.05, 7.36), no formal education (AOR: 2.32; 1.28, 5.63) and television viewing distance of ≤ 2 meter (AOR: 2.03; 1.29, 5.01) were factors positively associated with visual impairment. Conclusion: The magnitude of visual impairment in adults in the study area is significant. Population based screening program especially for refractive error is recommended to minimize the burden of visual impairment in the study area
Visual impairment; Associated factors; Adults; Ethiopia
Bizuneh ZY, Andualem HB, Mengistu MA. Prevalence and Associated Factors of Visual Impairment among Adults in Gish Abay Town, North West Ethiopia. J Clin Ophthalmol Eye Disord. 2021; 5(2): 1039.