Blindness and visual impairment in western Bulgaria

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Public Health
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Population-based surveys are crucial for understanding the prevalence and causes of visual impairment.
• Eastern Europe has limited data on blindness and visual impairment prevalence.
• The Sofia Eye Survey addresses this gap by examining adults in western Bulgaria.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the prevalence of blindness and visual impairment in adults aged 40 years and older in the Sofia district and city.
• To identify the primary causes of visual loss in this population.
• To compare findings with data from other developed countries.

Main Methods:

• A population-based survey of 6,275 randomly selected individuals aged 40+ in Sofia, Bulgaria.
• Visual acuity testing was performed on 98% of the surveyed population.
• Ophthalmologic examinations, including refraction and slit lamp/ophthalmoscopy, were conducted on referred subjects (n=171) with presenting visual acuity of 6/18 or worse.

Main Results:

• The prevalence of blindness (visual acuity worse than 3/60 in the better eye) was 0.49%.
• The prevalence of visual impairment (visual acuity 6/18 to 3/60 in the better eye) was 0.83%.
• Cataract was identified as the leading cause of both blindness and visual impairment.

Conclusions:

• The rates of blindness and visual impairment in the Sofia population are relatively low.
• Cataract remains a significant cause of reversible visual loss.
• The findings suggest that the prevalence of visual impairment in Eastern Europe may be similar to that in developed countries.