Nationwide Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB) in Armenia

ABSTRACT

Purpose

This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and main causes of blindness and visual impairment in population aged 50 years and older in Armenia using Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB) methodology.

Methods

The study team randomly selected 50 clusters (each consisting of 50 people) from all 11 regions of Armenia. Data on participants’ demographics, presenting visual acuity, pinhole visual acuity, principal cause of presenting visual acuity, spectacle coverage, uncorrected refractive error (URE), and presbyopia were collected using the RAAB survey form. Four teams of trained eye care professionals completed data collection in 2019.

Results

Overall, 2,258 people of 50 years and older participated in the study. The age- and gender- adjusted prevalence of bilateral blindness, severe and moderate visual impairment were 1.5% (95% CI: 1.0–2.1), 1.6% (95% CI: 1.0–2.2) and 6.6% (95% CI: 5.5–7.7), respectively.

The main causes of blindness were cataract (43.9%) and glaucoma (17.1%). About 54.6% and 35.3% of participants had URE and uncorrected presbyopia, respectively. The prevalence of bilateral blindness and functional low vision increased with age and was the highest in participants 80 years and older.

Conclusion

The rate of bilateral blindness was comparable with findings from countries that share similar background and confirmed that untreated cataract was the main cause of blindness. Given that cataract blindness is avoidable, strategies should be developed aiming to further increase the volume and quality of cataract care in Armenia.

KEYWORDS:

• Aging
• bilateral blindness
• functional low vision
• prevalence
• visual impairment

Acknowledgments

We are thankful to the study participants for their support during the implementation of the study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, [AG], upon reasonable request.

Financial support

The study was supported by the Lions Club International Foundation Research Grant.

Geolocation information

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Submission statement

This submission has not been published anywhere previously and that it is not simultaneously being considered for any other publication. The paper previously has not been reviewed and rejected by another journal.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the The study was supported by the Lions Club International Foundation Research Grant [SFP2054/UND].