title: Ocular Trauma in a Rural Population of North China: The Handan Eye Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the prevalence of ocular trauma and the proportion of blindness and visual impairment due to trauma in a rural population in northern China.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Handan Eye Study is a population-based cross-sectional study that surveyed 6830 Chinese people aged 30+ years from 13 randomly selected villages in Yongnian County, city of Handan, Hebei Province, in July, 2006. All participants underwent a standardized interview and extensive examinations. A structured questionnaire was used to collect information on ocular trauma.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 5837 participants who filled out the questionnaire, 124 subjects [2.1%; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.8%-2.5%] reported a history of ocular trauma in either eye, including 19 (0.3%) persons reporting trauma in both eyes. Men were more likely to have an eye injury than women [odds ratio (OR), 3.3; 2.2-4.9]. In multiple logistic regression models, ocular trauma was significantly more frequent among normotensive participants when compared with hypertensive participants (hypertensive vs. normotensive: OR, 0.6; 0.4-0.9) and among participants who had a history of falls (OR, 2.4; 1.2-4.8). The proportion of unilateral visual impairment and unilateral blindness due to trauma were 10.5% (13 subjects) and 21.0% (26 subjects), respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study reports the prevalence of severe ocular trauma among adults in rural China, revealing a high proportion of blindness and visual impairment due to trauma. These findings suggest the need for educational strategies to increase eye health awareness in this rural population with focus on providing at least appropriate first aid care to reduce blindness due to trauma.
authors.affiliation: Beijing Tongren Eye Center, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100730, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Beijing Tongren Eye Center, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100730, China; Handan Eye Hospital, Handan 056001, Hebei, China.
authors.forename: Feng Hua
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Beijing Tongren Eye Center, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100730, China.
authors.forename: Hai
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: School of Optometry and Ophthalmology, Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325035, Zhejiang, China.
authors.forename: Yuan Bo
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Beijing Tongren Eye Center, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100730, China.
authors.forename: Ning Li
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001766:Blindness / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005131:Eye Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D011897:Random Allocation; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D015354:Vision, Low / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D019987:Persons with Visual Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: Handan Eye Study; Ocular trauma; Population-based survey; Prevalence; Risk factor