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Published on: April 7, 2014
Prevalence and causes of corneal blindness
Haijing Wang1, Yaoguang Zhang, Zhijian Li
1The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.
Background:
The study aimed to assess the prevalence and causes of corneal blindness in a rural northern Chinese population.
Design:
Cross-sectional study.
Participants Or Samples:
The cluster random sampling method was used to select the sample.
Methods:
This population-based study included 11 787 participants of all ages in rural Heilongjiang Province, China. These participants underwent a detailed interview and eye examination that included the measurement of visual acuity, slit-lamp biomicroscopy and direct ophthalmoscopy. An eye was considered to have corneal blindness if the visual acuity was <9/18 because of corneal diseases.
Main Outcome Measures:
The main outcome measure was prevalence rates of corneal blindness and low vision.
Results:
Among the 10 384 people enrolled in the study, the prevalence of corneal blindness is 0.3% (95% confidence interval 0.2-0.4%). The leading cause was keratitis in childhood (40.0%), followed by ocular trauma (33.3%) and keratitis in adulthood (20.0%). Age and illiteracy were found to be associated with an increased prevalence of corneal blindness.
Conclusion:
Blindness because of corneal diseases in rural areas of Northern China is a significant public health problem that needs to be given more attention.
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