Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 May;63(Suppl 1):199-210.
doi: 10.1007/s00038-017-1000-7. Epub 2017 Aug 3.

Burden of vision loss in the Eastern Mediterranean region, 1990-2015: findings from the Global Burden of Disease 2015 study

Collaborators

Burden of vision loss in the Eastern Mediterranean region, 1990-2015: findings from the Global Burden of Disease 2015 study

GBD 2015 Eastern Mediterranean Region Vision Loss Collaborators. Int J Public Health. 2018 May.

Abstract

Objectives: To report the estimated trend in prevalence and years lived with disability (YLDs) due to vision loss (VL) in the Eastern Mediterranean region (EMR) from 1990 to 2015.

Methods: The estimated trends in age-standardized prevalence and the YLDs rate due to VL in 22 EMR countries were extracted from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2015 study. The association of Socio-demographic Index (SDI) with changes in prevalence and YLDs of VL was evaluated using a multilevel mixed model.

Results: The age-standardized prevalence of VL in the EMR was 18.2% in 1990 and 15.5% in 2015. The total age-standardized YLDs rate attributed to all-cause VL in EMR was 536.9 per 100,000 population in 1990 and 482.3 per 100,000 population in 2015. For each 0.1 unit increase in SDI, the age-standardized prevalence and YLDs rate of VL showed a reduction of 1.5% (p < 0.001) and 23.9 per 100,000 population (p < 0.001), respectively.

Conclusions: The burden of VL is high in the EMR; however, it shows a descending trend over the past 25 years. EMR countries need to establish comprehensive eye care programs in their health care systems.

Keywords: Eastern Mediterranean region; Global burden of disease; Vision disorder; Vision impairment.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

This manuscript reflects original work that has not previously been published in whole or in part and is not under consideration elsewhere. All authors have read the manuscript and have agreed that the work is ready for submission and accept responsibility for its contents. The authors of this paper have complied with all ethical standards and do not have any conflicts of interest to disclose at the time of submission. The funding source played no role in the design of the study, the analysis and interpretation of data, and the writing of the paper. The study did not involve human participants and/or animals; therefore, no informed consent was needed.

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Age-standardized prevalence and years lived with disability (YLDs) rate of vision loss in Eastern Mediterranean Region countries in 1990 and 2015 (Global Burden of Disease Study 2015, Eastern Mediterranean Countries, 1990–2015)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Trends in age-standardized prevalence and years lived with disability (YLDs) rate of vision loss by gender in the Eastern Mediterranean Region from 1990 to 2015 (Global Burden of Disease Study 2015, Eastern Mediterranean Region, 1990–2015)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Age-specific prevalence (a, b) and years lived with disability (YLDs) rate (c, d) for causes of vision loss in Eastern Mediterranean Region at two time points (1990 and 2015) (Global Burden of Disease Study 2015, Eastern Mediterranean Region, 1990, 2015)
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Association of Socio-demographic Index (SDI) and changes in age-standardized prevalence and years lived with disability (YLDs) rate of all-cause vision loss (a), refraction and accommodation disorders (b), cataract (c), glaucoma (d), macular degeneration (e), and other causes of vision loss (f) (Global Burden of Disease Study 2015, Eastern Mediterranean Region, 2015)

References

    1. Abou-Gareeb I, Lewallen S, Bassett K, et al. Gender and blindness: a meta-analysis of population-based prevalence surveys. Ophthalmic Epidemiol. 2001;8:39–56. doi: 10.1076/opep.8.1.39.1540. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bates D, Mächler M, Bolker B, Walker S. Fitting linear mixed-effects models using lme4. J Stat Softw. 2015;67:1–48. doi: 10.18637/jss.v067.i01. - DOI
    1. Bourne RR, Stevens GA, White RA, Vision Loss Expert Group et al. Causes of vision loss worldwide, 1990–2010: a systematic analysis (2013) Lancet Glob Health. 2013;1:339–349. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(13)70113-X. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bourne RR, Taylor HR, Flaxman SR, Vision Loss Expert Group of the Global Burden of Disease Study et al. Number of people blind or visually impaired by glaucoma worldwide and in world regions 1990–2010: a meta-analysis. PLoS One. 2016;11:2229. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0162229. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Congdon NG, Friedman DS, Lietman T. Important causes of visual impairment in the world today. JAMA. 2003;290:2057–2060. doi: 10.1001/jama.290.15.2057. - DOI - PubMed