Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Causes of Visual Impairment in an Elderly Chinese Uygur Population in Southern Xinjiang

To investigate the prevalence, risk factors, and major causes of visual impairment (VI) in an elderly Chinese Uygur population in southern Xinjiang.

This was a population-based cross-sectional study. Participants aged 50 years and older from Haohan Country, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, were enrolled from August 2018 to December 2018 using cluster sampling. Participants underwent examinations including presenting visual acuity (PVA), pinhole vision, slit-lamp, intraocular pressure, and direct ophthalmoscopy. Participants' education and demographic information was collected by a questionnaire. The prevalence, risk factors, and major causes of vision loss were evaluated.

A total of 1465 participants (85.4% response rate) were enrolled. The mean age of the subjects was 59.1 ± 9.7 years. The prevalence of mild VI, moderate VI, severe VI, and blindness in the better eye was 13.3%, 12.8%, 2.9%, and 3.4%, respectively. The prevalence of low vision and blindness in this study was higher than that in Altay & Tacheng and Changji in northern Xinjiang, lower than that in Luxi, and similar to that in Tibet. The multiple logistic regression analysis showed that age, education level, and body mass index (BMI) were significantly associated with low vision and blindness (P ≤ 0.001, <0.05, 0.002, respectively). The major causes of low vision were cataract (42.6%), refractive error (19.6%), and glaucoma (12.6%), whereas the primary causes of blindness were cataract (34%), glaucoma (34%), and retinitis pigmentosa (10%).

VI is an important public health issue among elderly Uygur individuals in the area, especially for those with low education levels. Cataract is the leading cause of low vision and blindness.