Causes of severe visual impairment and blindness in Bangladesh: a study of 1935 children.
Br J Ophthalmol
; 91(8): 1000-4, 2007 Aug.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-17360736
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To identify the anatomical site and underlying aetiology of severe visual impairment and blindness (SVI/BL) in children in Bangladesh.DESIGN:
A national case series.METHODS:
Children were recruited from all 64 districts in Bangladesh through multiple sources. Causes were determined and categorised using standard World Health Organization methods.RESULTS:
1935 SVI/BL children were recruited. The median age was 132 months, and boys accounted for 63.1% of the sample. The main site of abnormality was lens (32.5%), mainly unoperated cataract, followed by corneal pathology (26.6%) and disorders of the whole eye (13.1%). Lens-related blindness was the leading cause in boys (37.0%) compared with corneal blindness in girls (29.8%). In 593 children, visual loss was due to childhood factors, over 75% being attributed to vitamin A deficiency. Overall 1338 children (69.2%) had avoidable causes. Only 2% of the country's estimated SVI/BL children have access to education and rehabilitation services.CONCLUSIONS:
This is the first large-scale study of SVI/BL children in Bangladesh over two-thirds of whom had avoidable causes. Strategies for control are discussed.
Texto completo:
1
Bases de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Ceguera
/
Baja Visión
Tipo de estudio:
Etiology_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
Límite:
Adolescent
/
Child
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Child, preschool
/
Female
/
Humans
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Infant
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Male
/
Newborn
País/Región como asunto:
Asia
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Br J Ophthalmol
Año:
2007
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Reino Unido