Visual impairment and associated factors in adults from three suburban communities in Nampula, Mozambique

ABSTRACT

Clinical relevance

Scientific evidence on the burden of visual impairment, its causes, and associated factors are essential to monitor progress in eye health, identify priorities and develop strategies and policies that meet the needs of the population, towards the eradication of preventable blindness.

Background

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of visual impairment, its causes and associated factors in adults living in suburban communities in Nampula.

Methods

This is a cross-sectional study conducted from November 2019 to February 2020. Eye examinations were performed on adults aged ≥18 years covered by the Lúrio University program, ‘one student, one family’. The odds ratio (OR) and adjusted odds ratio (aOR) were calculated to study the association between the dependent variable (presenting visual impairment) and independent variables (gender, age, school level, residence, family income and systemic diseases), with a 95% confidence interval.

Results

Distance and near presenting visual impairment had a prevalence of 16.3% and 21.1%, respectively, and were statistically associated with the age groups between 45–65 (OR:4.9) and >65 years (OR: 29.1), illiterate (OR:13.8), primary (OR:4.8) and secondary (aOR:37.5) school level, farmer (OR:32.8) and retired (OR:14.3) occupation, and presence of systemic diseases (OR :3.3). The main causes of presenting visual impairment were uncorrected refractive error and cataract.

Conclusion

The prevalence of presenting visual impairment is relatively high, given the enormous effort undertaken within the framework of VISION 2020: The Right to Sight global initiative. There is a need to develop intervention plans targeted at the highest risk groups, with a view to achieving the ‘one student, one family’ program goals with respect to eye health.

KEYWORDS:

• Adults
• eye health
• eye morbidities
• Mozambique
• Nampula
• visual impairment

Acknowledgements

The first author (DBS) would like to thank the other authors for their important contribution to this study that is part of his doctoral thesis.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.