The Correlation of Global Burden of Vision Impairment and Ambient Atmospheric Fine Particulate Matter

To assess the correlation between the worldwide burden of vision impairment (VI) and fine particulate matter (PM) 2.5.

In this retrospective cross-sectional study, global and national prevalence and disability-adjusted lost year (DALY) numbers and rates of total VI, glaucoma, cataract, and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease database. The global and national levels of PM2.5 levels were also extracted. The main outcome measures were the correlation of PM2.5 levels with total VI and three ocular diseases in different age, sex, and socioeconomic subgroups.

In 2019, the worldwide prevalence of total VI and exposure level of PM2.5 was 9.6% (95% uncertainty interval: 8.0-11.3) and 42.5 μg/m³, respectively. The national age-standardized prevalence rates of total VI (r _p = 0.52, P < 0.001), glaucoma (r _p = 0.65, P < 0.001), AMD (r _p = 0.67, P < 0.001), and cataract (r _p = 0.44, P < 0.001) have a positive correlation with PM2.5 levels. In addition, the national age-standardized DALY rates of total VI (r _p = 0.62, P < 0.001), glaucoma (r _p = 0.62, P < 0.001), AMD (r _p = 0.54, P < 0.001), and cataract (r _p = 0.45, P < 0.001) significantly correlated with PM2.5 levels. The correlations remained significant in different age, sex, and sociodemographic subgroups.

National prevalence rates of VI and three major ocular diseases correlate significantly with PM2.5 exposure levels, worldwide.