Blindness and visual impairment in Central Europe

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Epidemiology
• Genetics

Background:

• Visual impairment and blindness pose significant public health challenges globally.
• Understanding the prevalence and causes of these conditions is crucial for effective prevention and treatment strategies.
• Austria, a Central European country, lacks comprehensive data on the specific causes of visual impairment and blindness across different age groups.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the prevalence and etiological factors of visual impairment and blindness in Austria.
• To identify differences in causes between retirement-aged individuals and working-age adults/children.
• To inform future research priorities and therapeutic development for preventing blindness.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective epidemiological study utilizing the Austrian Social Insurance database.
• Analysis of registered patients with visual impairment, legal blindness, or deaf-blindness as of February 2019.
• Examination of new cases from 2017-2018 to determine incidence, demographics, and causes, including macular degeneration, retinal disorders, and inherited retinal and choroidal diseases (IRDs).

Main Results:

• In February 2019, 17,730 individuals (0.2% of the population) had registered visual impairments or blindness.
• The incidence rate was 25.0 per 100,000 person-years (2017-2018), with higher rates in females.
• Macular degeneration was the leading cause overall (24.4%), but IRDs were the primary cause in working-age individuals and children (14.1%).

Conclusions:

• Inherited retinal and choroidal diseases (IRDs) are the predominant cause of visual impairment and blindness among the working-age population and children in Austria.
• These findings underscore the importance of targeted research and development of emerging therapies for IRDs.
• The study emphasizes the need to focus on specific etiologies, like IRDs, for effective blindness prevention strategies in younger demographics.