Visual Impairment and Blindness among Patients at Nigeria Army Eye Centre, Bonny Cantonment Lagos, Nigeria
<b>Background:</b> Visual impairment (VI) is a public health problem that can affect an individual’s social wellbeing. The study aims to determine the distribution and causes of vision impairment (VI) and blindness among patients at Nigerian Army Eye Centre Lagos, Nigeria. <b>Metho...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Healthcare |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/10/11/2312 |
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| author | Ngozika Esther Ezinne Oluwaseun Shittu Kingsley Kene Ekemiri Michael Agyemang Kwarteng Selassie Tagoh Grace Ogbonna Khathutshelo Percy Mashige |
| author_facet | Ngozika Esther Ezinne Oluwaseun Shittu Kingsley Kene Ekemiri Michael Agyemang Kwarteng Selassie Tagoh Grace Ogbonna Khathutshelo Percy Mashige |
| author_sort | Ngozika Esther Ezinne |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <b>Background:</b> Visual impairment (VI) is a public health problem that can affect an individual’s social wellbeing. The study aims to determine the distribution and causes of vision impairment (VI) and blindness among patients at Nigerian Army Eye Centre Lagos, Nigeria. <b>Method:</b> An institutional cross-sectional study was conducted, and a systematic random sampling technique was used to enrol study participants from their medical records. Information about their demography, presenting visual acuity (VA), best corrected visual acuity and cause of VI and blindness, were retrieved. <b>Result:</b> A total of five hundred (500) medical records of patients aged from 4 to 96 years, with a mean age of 54.07 ± 21.43 years, were considered for the study. Among the participants, more than half were males (51.2%) and ≥60 years (53.0%). A large (47.2%) proportion of the patients had moderate VI at the time of presentation, followed by blindness (22.0%). The major cause of blindness was cataract, while glaucoma and refractive error were the major causes of VI. Blindness and VI were significantly associated with the type of VI before and after the provision of intervention (<i>p</i> < 0.05) across different age groups (children, youths, adults, elderly) with an adjusted <i>p</i> < 0.003 after an intervention. <b>Conclusions:</b> Cataracts, glaucoma and uncorrected refractive error (URE) were the major causes of VI and blindness in Lagos State. VI was more prevalent in males than females; however, there was no significant difference between the two proportions. The prevalence of VI among age groups was more significant for those 60 years and above. Early screening for the detection and management of cataract, URE and glaucoma is highly advised to reduce the burden of VI. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:18:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a0cf8dd91fb14c12925794fb88c68dfc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9032 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:18:51Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Healthcare |
| spelling | doaj.art-a0cf8dd91fb14c12925794fb88c68dfc2023-11-24T08:28:36ZengMDPI AGHealthcare2227-90322022-11-011011231210.3390/healthcare10112312Visual Impairment and Blindness among Patients at Nigeria Army Eye Centre, Bonny Cantonment Lagos, NigeriaNgozika Esther Ezinne0Oluwaseun Shittu1Kingsley Kene Ekemiri2Michael Agyemang Kwarteng3Selassie Tagoh4Grace Ogbonna5Khathutshelo Percy Mashige6Optometry Unit, Department of Clinical Surgical Sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine 685509, Trinidad and TobagoDepartment of Optometry, Faculty of Health Science, Madonna University, Elele 510242, Rivers State, NigeriaOptometry Unit, Department of Clinical Surgical Sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine 685509, Trinidad and TobagoDiscipline of Optometry, School of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4041, South AfricaDepartment of Optometry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Bindura University of Science Education, Bindura Private Bag 1020, ZimbabweDepartment of Optometry, Faculty of Health Science, Mzuzu University, Mzuzu P.O. Box 201, MalawiDiscipline of Optometry, School of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4041, South Africa<b>Background:</b> Visual impairment (VI) is a public health problem that can affect an individual’s social wellbeing. The study aims to determine the distribution and causes of vision impairment (VI) and blindness among patients at Nigerian Army Eye Centre Lagos, Nigeria. <b>Method:</b> An institutional cross-sectional study was conducted, and a systematic random sampling technique was used to enrol study participants from their medical records. Information about their demography, presenting visual acuity (VA), best corrected visual acuity and cause of VI and blindness, were retrieved. <b>Result:</b> A total of five hundred (500) medical records of patients aged from 4 to 96 years, with a mean age of 54.07 ± 21.43 years, were considered for the study. Among the participants, more than half were males (51.2%) and ≥60 years (53.0%). A large (47.2%) proportion of the patients had moderate VI at the time of presentation, followed by blindness (22.0%). The major cause of blindness was cataract, while glaucoma and refractive error were the major causes of VI. Blindness and VI were significantly associated with the type of VI before and after the provision of intervention (<i>p</i> < 0.05) across different age groups (children, youths, adults, elderly) with an adjusted <i>p</i> < 0.003 after an intervention. <b>Conclusions:</b> Cataracts, glaucoma and uncorrected refractive error (URE) were the major causes of VI and blindness in Lagos State. VI was more prevalent in males than females; however, there was no significant difference between the two proportions. The prevalence of VI among age groups was more significant for those 60 years and above. Early screening for the detection and management of cataract, URE and glaucoma is highly advised to reduce the burden of VI.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/10/11/2312visual impairmentblindnessLagos StateNigeriacataractglaucoma |
| spellingShingle | Ngozika Esther Ezinne Oluwaseun Shittu Kingsley Kene Ekemiri Michael Agyemang Kwarteng Selassie Tagoh Grace Ogbonna Khathutshelo Percy Mashige Visual Impairment and Blindness among Patients at Nigeria Army Eye Centre, Bonny Cantonment Lagos, Nigeria Healthcare visual impairment blindness Lagos State Nigeria cataract glaucoma |
| title | Visual Impairment and Blindness among Patients at Nigeria Army Eye Centre, Bonny Cantonment Lagos, Nigeria |
| title_full | Visual Impairment and Blindness among Patients at Nigeria Army Eye Centre, Bonny Cantonment Lagos, Nigeria |
| title_fullStr | Visual Impairment and Blindness among Patients at Nigeria Army Eye Centre, Bonny Cantonment Lagos, Nigeria |
| title_full_unstemmed | Visual Impairment and Blindness among Patients at Nigeria Army Eye Centre, Bonny Cantonment Lagos, Nigeria |
| title_short | Visual Impairment and Blindness among Patients at Nigeria Army Eye Centre, Bonny Cantonment Lagos, Nigeria |
| title_sort | visual impairment and blindness among patients at nigeria army eye centre bonny cantonment lagos nigeria |
| topic | visual impairment blindness Lagos State Nigeria cataract glaucoma |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/10/11/2312 |
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