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Authors
Rumaisa Aljied, BSc; Marie-Josée Aubin, MD, MSc, MPH; Ralf Buhrmann, MD, PhD; Saama Sabeti, MD; Ellen E. Freeman, PhD
Abstract
Objective
To determine the prevalence and determinants of visual impairment in Canada.
Methods
Inclusion criteria included being between the ages of 45 and 85 years old, community-dwelling, and living near one of the 11 data collection sites across 7 Canadian provinces. People were excluded if they were in an institution, living on a First Nations reserve, were a full-time member of the Canadian Armed Forces, did not speak French or English, or had cognitive impairment. Visual acuity was measured using the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) chart while participants wore their usual prescription for distance, if any. Visual impairment was defined as presenting binocular acuity worse than 20/40.
Results
Of Canadian adults, 5.7% (95% CI 5.4–6.0) had visual impairment. A wide variation in the provincial prevalence of visual impairment was observed ranging from a low of 2.4% (95% CI 2.0–3.0) in Manitoba to a high of 10.9% (95% CI 9.6–12.2) in Newfoundland and Labrador. Factors associated with a higher odds of visual impairment included older age (odds ratio [OR] = 1.07, 95% CI 1.06–1.08), lower income (OR = 2.07 for those earning less than $20 000 per year, 95% CI 1.65–2.59), current smoking (OR = 1.52, 95% CI 1.25–1.85), type 2 diabetes (OR = 1.20, 95% CI 1.03–1.41), and memory problems (OR = 1.44, 95% CI 1.04–2.01).
Conclusions
Refractive error was the leading cause of visual impairment. Older age, lower income, province, smoking, diabetes, and memory problems were associated with visual impairment.
Read the full article through the Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology website: Full Article