EyeWorld is the official news magazine of the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.
Issue link: https://digital.eyeworld.org/i/276058
and macular degeneration. Impair- ment from an uncorrected refractive error was especially high in south Asia. Women were more likely to be affected by blindness and moderate t o severe vision impairment world- wide. "Worldwide, cataract caused 35.5% of blindness in women, com- pared with 30.1% in men, and for moderate to severe visual impair- ment, the values were 20.2% and 15.9%, respectively," the investiga- tors wrote. They also found macular degeneration was more common in w omen than men. The age-standardized prevalence of trachoma, cataract, and uncor- rected refractive error between 1990 and 2010 around the world decreased. A similar prevalence for glaucoma, macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy decreased for blindness but increased slightly for visual impairment. Examining implications The investigators noted that about half of the decline in blindness and moderate to severe visual impair- ment was due to a decline in cataracts. Proportions also declined due to decreases in uncorrected re- fractive error. A reduction in corneal scarring from trachoma contributed to some of the decline, particularly in the east sub-Saharan Africa re- gion. The investigators' results are an extension of work done for VISION 2020: the Right to Sight, a global action plan to eliminate blindness from preventable causes. "The research is a reinforcement for professionals, non-governmental organizations, and governments that we are working correctly," said Anna Rius, MPH, UNESCO chair for Visual Health and Development, Department of Optometry and Optics, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona. Ms. Rius has done research into blindness causes in Spain. "All researchers in ocular epi- demiology have to be thankful for this kind of work that helps all other r esearch teams to have a worldwide picture of the evolution of blindness and visual impairment prevalence and its causes," Ms. Rius said. She found it surprising that blindness had decreased even though there is a worldwide aging population and many eye diseases are age-related. D espite encouraging improve- ments, the data show there still needs to be more information on blindness causes in central Africa, central and eastern Europe, and the Caribbean, the investigators noted. Research into worldwide blind- ness causes will continue, Dr. Bourne said, noting that the research group has received a grant from the Brien Holden Vision Institute. The money received will enable the investiga- tors' database to incorporate more recent data and make the data acces- sible to anyone around the world with an internet connection. The first internet site for this part of the research will be hosted by the Inter- national Agency for the Prevention of Blindness and should be ready this spring, Dr. Bourne said. EW Reference 1. Bourne RRA, Stevens GA, White RA, Smith JL, Flaxman SR, Price H, Jonas JB, et al. Causes of vision loss worldwide, 1990-2010: A systemic analysis. The Lancet Global Health. 1:e339-e349. Editors' note: The sources interviewed have no financial interests related to this article. Contact information Bourne: rb@rupertbourne.co.uk Rius: arius@euot.upc.edu Femtosecond Spatulas 8 - 1 6 1 7 2 : S e i b e l * , S t a i n l e s s 0 5 - 7 0 0 7 : Se i b e l * , T i t a ni um 8 - 1 6 1 7 2 - L : L e g e * / S e i b e l * , S t a i n l e s s 8 - 1 6 1 7 8 : S t r a t a s * / S e i b e l * , S t a i n l e s s 8 - 1 6 1 7 9 : W e x l e r */ S e i b e l *, S t a i n l e s s 8 - 1 6 1 7 3 : R o u s s e a u * , S t a i n l e s s 3360 Scherer Drive, Suite B, St. Petersburg, FL 33716 s4ELs&AX %MAIL)NFO 2HEIN-EDICALCOMs7EBSITEWWW2HEIN-EDICALCOM $EVELOPED)N#OORDINATION7ITH"ARRY33EIBEL-$"ARBARA,EGE-$ 0AUL"2OUSSEAU"YRON!3TRATAS-$3TEPHEN!7EXLER-$ ,UCAS4HE%LDER6ENUS#UPID BABC 1323 Rev.C Call 727-209-2244 For More Information. /R6ISITWWW2HEIN-EDICALCOM #OME3EE5S!T!3#23"OOTH.O* Boston Fun Fact Candlepin bowling was invented in Boston in 1880. Source: www.cityofboston.gov 18-47 News_EW March 2014-DL2 copy_Layout 1 3/6/14 2:46 PM Page 27