Prevalence and Causes of Blindness in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60787/tnhj.v9i1%20-%204.25Keywords:
Blindness, Prevalence, Causes, Ikwere NigeriaAbstract
Background: The target of the world Health organization (WHO) to reduce blindness to less than 0.5% in all countries and <1% in individual countries is only possible if all major blinding eye diseases are detected early and treated or even prevented from occurring. Unfortunately, this target is frequently hampered by the problem of access to effective eye care in developing countries. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence and causes of blindness in Ikwerre Local Government Area of River State, Nigeria
Methods: A population based, multistage random sampling survey on the causes of blindness was carried out between the 8th of September and 20th of October 2007. Various household in Seven villages picked from seven communities in the LGA were involved in the survey. Basic eye examination involving visual acuity measurement, pen torch assessment, funduscopy and intra-ocular pressure measurement were done. Data was recorded with WHO / PBL form.
Results: A total of 1513 persons were examined consisting of 754 males and 759 females. The prevalence of bilateral blindness was 1.26%; the commonest causes of bilateral blindness were cataract (37), glaucoma (31.5%) and optic atrophy (15.7%). There were more bilaterally blind females (68%) compared to males (32%). They were all above 50 years old.
The main causes of unilateral blindness were cataract (42.3%), glaucoma (15.4%) optic atrophy (11.5%) and corneal opacity (11.5%).
Conclusion: The burden of blindness can be reduced through effective planning and implementation of programmes for making cataract surgeries affordable, training of health personnel on basic eye care and establishment of a functional state programme for prevention of blindness
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