Prevalence of visual impairment, blindness, ocular disorders and cataract surgery outcomes in low-income elderly from a metropolitan region of São Paulo--Brazil.
OBJECTIVE
To determine prevalence and causes of visual impairment, blindness, ocular disorders and cataract surgery outcomes in a low-income elderly population from a metropolitan area in the city of São Paulo, Brazil.


METHODS
Observational study where 801 individuals of 60 years and older underwent presented and best corrected visual acuity measurements as well as ophthalmologic examination. Definition of blindness and visual impairment followed studies conducted in Nepal, China and India.


RESULTS
The prevalence of presented and best-corrected visual acuity worse than 20/400 in both eyes was 1.38% (95% CI: 0.69% - 2.45%) and 1.25% (95% CI: 0.60% - 2.29%). Prevalence of visual impairment considering presented and best-corrected visual acuity was, respectively, 24.16% (95% CI: 21.22% - 27.28%) and 12.77% (95% CI: 10.53% - 15.28%). Cataract was the main cause of blindness (30.00%) and visual impairment (54.90%). A total of 54 participants (6.74%) had previous cataract surgery and, with best-corrected visual acuity, 35.12% showed visual acuity better than 20/60 in both eyes. Rates of visual impairment and blindness in this low-income elderly population were high. There was a considerable decrease in prevalence after optical correction emphasizing the importance of uncorrected refractive errors.


CONCLUSIONS
Cataract was the main cause of blindness; poor visual outcomes in eyes previously operated for cataract reinforce the need to seek good quality cataract services and to provide careful postoperative follow-up.
Departamento de Oftalmologia daInstituto da Visão da UniversidadeFederal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brasil. arnaud13@msn.com
Arnaud
A
Araújo Filho
Solange Rios
SR
Salomão
Adriana
A
Berezovsky
Rafael Werneck
RW
Cinoto
Paulo Henrique Avila
PH
Morales
Francisco Roberto Gonçalves
FR
Santos
Rubens
R
Belfort
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001766:Blindness / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002386:Cataract / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D002387:Cataract Extraction / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011203:Poverty; D015995:Prevalence; D014505:Urban Population; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology; D019987:Persons with Visual Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*