Glaucoma Blindness and Visual Impairment in India: Findings from National Blindness Survey
Vivek Gupta, Praveen Vashist, Anuja Patil, Noopur Gupta, Suraj Singh Senjam, BR Shamanna, V Rajshekhar, Meenakshi Wadhwani, Amit Bhardwaj, Tanuj DadaPrécis:
Potentially avoidable blindness due to glaucoma affects 10.4/10000 Indian adults aged ≥50 years. Early detection may prevent vision impairment. Nearly half of persons with unilateral glaucoma-associated vision loss have no perception of light in the affected eye.
Purpose:
We aimed to estimate the population prevalence and number of persons visually impaired (VI) due to glaucoma in India.
Methods:
Deidentified data from the National Blindness Survey 2015-19 in population aged ≥50 years were analysed to estimate vision loss due to glaucoma. Diagnosis was based on optic disc assessments. Prevalence (95% confidence intervals, CI), risk factors (odds ratios, OR) and burden for 2023 were estimated at thresholds of presenting visual acuity (PVA) in better eye <6/18 for moderate-severe visual impairment (MSVI) and <3/60 for blindness.
Results:
85135 participants aged ≥50 years were examined, and glaucoma was the cause of VI in 485 (59.6/10000; 95% CI: 47.–74.7) participants and the most avoidable cause of VI in 181 participants (22.6/10000; 95% CI: 18.1–28.2). This included 96 with blindness (10.4/10000; 95% CI: 7.7–13.8) and 64 with MSVI (8.2/10000; 95% CI: 5.4–12.5). Among 304 with unilateral glaucoma associated vision loss, 49.3% had no perception of light in the affected eye. Prevalence of avoidable glaucoma MSVI or blindness increased from 11.2/10000 in 50-59 years to 23.7/10000 in 70-79 years age group (adjusted OR 1.8; 95% CI: 1.0, 3.0) and was associated with illiteracy (OR 2.6; 95% CI: 1.2, 5.7) and residence in Northern zone of India (OR 2.9, 95% CI: 1.7, 4.8) but not with gender or rural residence.
Conclusion:
There is a significant burden of vision impairment and blindness caused by glaucoma in India, which needs redressal through policy and programmatic interventions.