title: Prevalence and causes of low vision and blindness in Baotou: A cross-sectional study.
abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and causes of low vision and blindness in Baotou, Inner Mongolia.A cross-sectional study was carried out. Multistage sampling was used to select samples. The visual acuity was estimated using LogMAR and corrected by pinhole as best-corrected visual acuity.There were 7000 samples selected and 5770 subjects included in this investigation. The overall bilateral prevalence rates of low vision and blindness were 3.66% (95% CI: 3.17-4.14) and 0.99% (95% CI: 0.73-1.24), respectively. The prevalence of bilateral low vision, blindness, and visual impairment increased with age and decreased with education level. The main leading cause of low vision and blindness was cataract. Diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration were found to be the second leading causes of blindness in Baotou.The low vision and blindness were more prevalent in elderly people and subjects with low education level in Baotou. Cataract was the main cause for visual impairment and more attention should be paid to fundus diseases. In order to prevent blindness, much more eye care programs should be established.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Hohhot Chao Ju Eye Hospital, Hohhot Department of English, School of Fundamental Sciences, China Medical University, Shenyang Department of Ophthalmology, Hebei Xinji Fuming Eye Hospital, Shijiazhuang Department of Ophthalmology, Baotou Chao Ju Eye Hospital, Baotou Department of Ophthalmology, The First Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
authors.forename: Guisen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Xuelong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Teng
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: Fengmei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Yuxia
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Han
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001766:Blindness / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence