Global, Regional, and National Epidemiology of Visual Impairment in Working-Age Individuals, 1990-2019

Visual impairment in working-age individuals can affect their general health and employment prospects, leading to decreased social and economic productivity and increased poverty rates. Nonetheless, investigations in this population appear to be limited.

To investigate the trends of visual impairment prevalence and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) in working-age individuals from 1990 to 2019.

This cross-sectional, population-based study used data for individuals of working age (15-64 years) from 204 countries and territories obtained from the Global Burden of Disease 2019 study. The data analysis was performed between May 1 and 10, 2023.

Visual impairment, defined as visual acuity of less than 6/18 (20/60) or near visual acuity of less than 6/12 (20/40) distance equivalent as determined by Snellen chart.

Trends of visual impairment prevalence, DALYs, and corresponding estimated annual percent changes (EAPCs) from 1990 to 2019 were stratified according to region, nation, and sociodemographic index (SDI).

There were 437 539 484 (95% uncertainty interval [UI], 325 463 851-575 573 588) prevalent cases of visual impairment globally (53.12% female and 46.88% male) in 2019, representing an increase of 91.46% from 1990 (prevalent cases, 228 530 964; 95% UI, 172 515 833-297 118 596). Over 3 decades, visual impairment-associated DALYs increased from 7 601 852 (95% UI, 5 047 030-11 107 897) to 12 563 276 (95% UI, 8 278 866-18 961 723). Among the 5 SDI groups, the low-SDI group had the largest increase in DALYs (898 167 [95% UI, 597 161-1 301 931] in 1990 to 1 634 122 [95% UI, 1 079 102-2 444 381] in 2019). Regionally, the greatest increase in prevalence was observed in Eastern Europe (EAPC, 0.10; 95% CI, 0.02-0.19). Among all countries and territories, Nepal had the highest national prevalence of visual impairment per 100 000 population in 2019 (26 008.45; 95% UI, 19 987.35-32 482.09), while South Sudan had the highest DALY rate per 100 000 population (480.59; 95% UI, 316.06-697.06).

Despite the mild decrease in visual impairment prevalence rates in less-developed countries, these findings suggest that the number of prevalent cases globally has increased substantially, with discernible unfavorable patterns in developed regions. The findings support the notion that visual impairment in working-age individuals is a growing global health challenge. A better understanding of its epidemiology may facilitate the development of appropriate measures for prevention and treatment from both medical and social perspectives.