Publication:

Prevalence and causes of blindness in patients coming to a tertiary eye care centre in western Uttar Pradesh

Background Objective of the research was to study the prevalence of blindness in adult patients coming to a tertiary eye care centre in Western Uttar Pradesh and assess their causes.

Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on adult patients coming to the outpatient department of a tertiary eye care centre over a period of 3 months and 375 patients were identified as having blindness. Complete ophthalmological examination was conducted to find out the cause for the same.

Results The prevalence of blindness was found out to be 4.096%. The major causes for blindness in adults were identified as cataract (33.06%), glaucoma (13.6%), ARMD (5.6%), diabetic retinopathy (5.06%), corneal scar/opacity/dystrophy (26.93%), amblyopia (3.2%) and trauma (2.13%).

Conclusions Knowledge of prevalence of blindness in a region is important in developing and implementing eye care services. Avoidable blindness needs to be identified and treated as soon as possible.