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Review
. 2014 May;19(5):600-9.
doi: 10.1111/tmi.12276. Epub 2014 Jan 31.

Posterior segment eye disease in sub-Saharan Africa: review of recent population-based studies

Andrew Bastawrous  1 , Philip I Burgess, Abdull M Mahdi, Fatima Kyari, Matthew J Burton, Hannah Kuper
Affiliations
Free PMC article
Review

Posterior segment eye disease in sub-Saharan Africa: review of recent population-based studies

Andrew Bastawrous et al. Trop Med Int Health. 2014 May.
Free PMC article

Abstract

Objective: To assess the burden of posterior segment eye diseases (PSEDs) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

Methods: We reviewed published population-based data from SSA and other relevant populations on the leading PSED, specifically glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration, as causes of blindness and visual impairment in adults. Data were extracted from population-based studies conducted in SSA and elsewhere where relevant.

Results: PSEDs, when grouped or as individual diseases, are a major contributor to blindness and visual impairment in SSA. PSED, grouped together, was usually the second leading cause of blindness after cataract, ranging as a proportion of blindness from 13 to 37%.

Conclusions: PSEDs are likely to grow in importance as causes of visual impairment and blindness in SSA in the coming years as populations grow, age and become more urban in lifestyle. African-based cohort studies are required to help estimate present and future needs and plan services to prevent avoidable blindness.

Keywords: Africa; age-related macular degeneration; blindness; diabetic retinopathy; glaucoma; incidence; posterior segment eye disease; prevalence; visual impairment.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Cross-sectional diagram of the eye demonstrating the anterior and posterior segments and their potential diseases.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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