Prevalence of non-vision-impairing conditions in a village in Chakwal district, Punjab, Pakistan.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence of non-vision-impairing ocular conditions (NVIC) and estimate the number of primary eye care treatments per 1000 population per month.


METHODS
A cross-sectional study in a random sample of 1670 people was done to determine the load of NVIC in a village in Chakwal district.


RESULTS
The prevalence of NVIC was 30.6% (306 per 1000 population). NVIC with the exclusion of presbyopia accounted for 14.6%. The main NVIC were allergic conjunctivitis (3.7%), bacterial conjunctivitis (3.5%), pterygium/pinguicula (2.6%) and acute/chronic dacryocystitis (1%). The average Complaint Frequency (CF) per month/1000 population was 55, excluding complaints of near vision and watery eyes.


CONCLUSIONS
The foundation of a comprehensive district eye care strategy in the light of VISION 2020 - the Right to Sight - remains an effective primary eye care service whose elements are treatment of NVIC, detection and referral of cataracts and refractive errors, and promotion of eye health.
Hussain
Arif
A
Munawwar Memorial Hospital, Rawalpindi Road, Chakwal Pakistan. drarifhussain@yahoo.com
Awan
Haroon
H
Khan
Mohammed Daud
MD
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005128:Eye Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010154:Pakistan; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014787:Vision Tests; D014785:Vision, Ocular