Causes of visual impairment and blindness in children in three ecological regions of Nepal: Nepal Pediatric Ocular Diseases Study

Srijana Adhikari,1 Mohan K Shrestha,1 Kamala Adhikari,2 Nhukesh Maharjan,1 Ujjowala D Shrestha1 1Pediatric Ophthalmology unit, Tilganaga Institute of Ophthalmology, Gaushala, Kathmandu, Nepal; 2Private consultant, Kathmandu, Nepal Purpose: To study the causes of blindness and visual impairment in...

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Autores principales:	Adhikari S, Shrestha MK, Adhikari K, Maharjan N, Shrestha UD
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Dove Medical Press 2015
Materias:	Ophthalmology RE1-994
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/ae698b04ddb94d7f9b611a35279c6a9d
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:ae698b04ddb94d7f9b611a35279c6a9d2021-12-02T04:21:34ZCauses of visual impairment and blindness in children in three ecological regions of Nepal: Nepal Pediatric Ocular Diseases Study1177-5483https://doaj.org/article/ae698b04ddb94d7f9b611a35279c6a9d2015-08-01T00:00:00Zhttp://www.dovepress.com/causes-of-visual-impairment-and-blindness-in-children-in-three-ecologi-peer-reviewed-article-OPTHhttps://doaj.org/toc/1177-5483Srijana Adhikari,1 Mohan K Shrestha,1 Kamala Adhikari,2 Nhukesh Maharjan,1 Ujjowala D Shrestha1 1Pediatric Ophthalmology unit, Tilganaga Institute of Ophthalmology, Gaushala, Kathmandu, Nepal; 2Private consultant, Kathmandu, Nepal Purpose: To study the causes of blindness and visual impairment in children in three ecologically diverse regions of Nepal.Materials and methods: This is a baseline survey report of a 3-year longitudinal population-based study. One district each from the three ecological regions – Terai, Hills, and Mountains – was selected for the study. Village Development Committees from each district were selected by random sampling. Three community health workers were given training on vision screening and identification of abnormal ocular conditions in children. Health workers who examined children and collected data using pretested questionnaire performed house-to-house surveys. Children with abnormal vision or ocular conditions were referred to and examined by pediatric ophthalmologists.Results: A total of 10,950 children aged 0–10 years, 5,403 from Terai, 3,204 from Hills, and 2,343 from Mountains, were enrolled in the study. Of them, 681 (6.2%) were nonresponders. The ratio of boys to girls was 1.03:1. Prevalence of blindness was 0.068% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.02%–0.12%) and visual impairment was 0.097% (95% CI 0.04%–0.15%). Blindness was relatively more prevalent in Terai region (0.08%, 95% CI 0.02%–0.13%). The most common cause of blindness was amblyopia (42.9%) followed by congenital cataract. Corneal opacity (39%) was the most common cause of unilateral blindness.Conclusion: More than two-thirds of the causes that lead to blindness and visual impairment were potentially preventable. Further, nutritional and genetic studies are needed to determine the factors associated with ocular morbidity and blindness in these regions. Keywords: vision screening, ocular morbidity, childhood, Nepal, pediatricAdhikari SShrestha MKAdhikari KMaharjan NShrestha UDDove Medical PressarticleOphthalmologyRE1-994ENClinical Ophthalmology, Vol 2015, Iss default, Pp 1543-1547 (2015)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Ophthalmology RE1-994
spellingShingle	Ophthalmology RE1-994 Adhikari S Shrestha MK Adhikari K Maharjan N Shrestha UD Causes of visual impairment and blindness in children in three ecological regions of Nepal: Nepal Pediatric Ocular Diseases Study
description	Srijana Adhikari,1 Mohan K Shrestha,1 Kamala Adhikari,2 Nhukesh Maharjan,1 Ujjowala D Shrestha1 1Pediatric Ophthalmology unit, Tilganaga Institute of Ophthalmology, Gaushala, Kathmandu, Nepal; 2Private consultant, Kathmandu, Nepal Purpose: To study the causes of blindness and visual impairment in children in three ecologically diverse regions of Nepal.Materials and methods: This is a baseline survey report of a 3-year longitudinal population-based study. One district each from the three ecological regions – Terai, Hills, and Mountains – was selected for the study. Village Development Committees from each district were selected by random sampling. Three community health workers were given training on vision screening and identification of abnormal ocular conditions in children. Health workers who examined children and collected data using pretested questionnaire performed house-to-house surveys. Children with abnormal vision or ocular conditions were referred to and examined by pediatric ophthalmologists.Results: A total of 10,950 children aged 0–10 years, 5,403 from Terai, 3,204 from Hills, and 2,343 from Mountains, were enrolled in the study. Of them, 681 (6.2%) were nonresponders. The ratio of boys to girls was 1.03:1. Prevalence of blindness was 0.068% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.02%–0.12%) and visual impairment was 0.097% (95% CI 0.04%–0.15%). Blindness was relatively more prevalent in Terai region (0.08%, 95% CI 0.02%–0.13%). The most common cause of blindness was amblyopia (42.9%) followed by congenital cataract. Corneal opacity (39%) was the most common cause of unilateral blindness.Conclusion: More than two-thirds of the causes that lead to blindness and visual impairment were potentially preventable. Further, nutritional and genetic studies are needed to determine the factors associated with ocular morbidity and blindness in these regions. Keywords: vision screening, ocular morbidity, childhood, Nepal, pediatric
format	article
author	Adhikari S Shrestha MK Adhikari K Maharjan N Shrestha UD
author_facet	Adhikari S Shrestha MK Adhikari K Maharjan N Shrestha UD
author_sort	Adhikari S
title	Causes of visual impairment and blindness in children in three ecological regions of Nepal: Nepal Pediatric Ocular Diseases Study
title_short	Causes of visual impairment and blindness in children in three ecological regions of Nepal: Nepal Pediatric Ocular Diseases Study
title_full	Causes of visual impairment and blindness in children in three ecological regions of Nepal: Nepal Pediatric Ocular Diseases Study
title_fullStr	Causes of visual impairment and blindness in children in three ecological regions of Nepal: Nepal Pediatric Ocular Diseases Study
title_full_unstemmed	Causes of visual impairment and blindness in children in three ecological regions of Nepal: Nepal Pediatric Ocular Diseases Study
title_sort	causes of visual impairment and blindness in children in three ecological regions of nepal: nepal pediatric ocular diseases study
publisher	Dove Medical Press
publishDate	2015
url	https://doaj.org/article/ae698b04ddb94d7f9b611a35279c6a9d
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Causes of visual impairment and blindness in children in three ecological regions of Nepal: Nepal Pediatric Ocular Diseases Study

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