Prevalence and Causes of Avoidable Blindness in Subjects Over 50 Years of Age in Honduras

To describe the prevalence and causes of avoidable blindness in people aged 50 and over in the areas of influence of doctors in social service during the years 2018-2019.

This observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study, with analysis of association of variables, was conducted on patients 50 years and older at the national level, selected under simple random sampling, where sociodemographic variables, background, and clinical characteristics were studied. An ophthalmological clinical examination was performed with prior informed consent, and the information was processed and analyzed using Epi Info 7.2 statistical package and SPSS version 25.

Overall, 7992 people were evaluated, with a mean age of 62 years; 60.8% (4861) were women and 39.2% (3131) were men. The prevalence of blindness for both eyes was 4.5% (356/7992, 95% CI: 4.1-5.1%, p $$ 0.001). The prevalence of severe and moderate visual impairment was 1.5% (118/127) and 12.9% (1029)/12.6% (1004) for the right and left eyes, respectively. The main causes of blindness were cataract, refractive error, and glaucoma.

The prevalence of avoidable blindness found in the study was higher than expected and the respective causes were consistent with previous studies. Consequently, it is recommended to implement health policies aimed at the prevention and management of avoidable blindness.