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Original article| Volume 121, ISSUE 1, P408-416, January 01, 2014

Visual Impairment and Blindness in Spanish Adults

Geographic Inequalities Are Not Explained by Age or Education
  • Anna Rius
    Correspondence
    Correspondence: Anna Rius, MPH, UNESCO Chair Visual Health and Development (UPC), Violinista Vellsolà 37, 08222 Terrassa, Barcelona, Spain.
    Affiliations
    UNESCO Chair for Visual Health and Development, Department of Optometry and Optics, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
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  • Lucía Artazcoz
    Affiliations
    Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    CIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain

    Centro de Investigación en Salud Laboral, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain

    Institute of Biomedical Research (IIB-Sant Pau), Barcelona, Spain
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  • Laura Guisasola
    Affiliations
    UNESCO Chair for Visual Health and Development, Department of Optometry and Optics, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
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  • Joan Benach
    Affiliations
    Health Inequalities Research Group, Employment Conditions Knowledge Network (GREDS-EMCONET), Department of Political and Social Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
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Published:September 18, 2013DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ophtha.2013.07.017
Visual Impairment and Blindness in Spanish Adults
Previous ArticleInvolvement of LCA5 in Leber Congenital Amaurosis and Retinitis Pigmentosa in the Spanish Population
Next ArticleAge-related Prevalence and Met Need for Correctable and Uncorrectable Near Vision Impairment in a Multi-country Study

      Objectives

      The objectives of this study were to examine for the first time the prevalence of visual impairment and blindness among adults in Spain, to explore regional differences, and to assess whether they may vary as a function of sex or be explained by age and individual or regional socioeconomic position.

      Design

      Data were obtained from the 2008 Spanish Survey on Disability, Personal Autonomy, and Dependency Situations, a cross-sectional survey based on a representative sample of the noninstitutionalized population of Spain.

      Participants

      The sample was composed of 213 626 participants aged ≥15 years (103 093 men and 110 533 women); 360 were blind (160 men and 200 women), 4048 had near visual impairment (1397 men and 2651 women), and 4034 had distance visual impairment (1445 men and 2589 women).

      Methods

      The prevalence of near and distance visual impairment was calculated for each region. Multiple logistic regression models were fitted to calculate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. All analyses were stratified by sex.

      Main Outcome Measures

      Visual impairment was based on 3 questions aimed at identifying blindness and near and distance visual impairment.

      Results

      The prevalence (percentage) of blindness was 0.17 (men, 0.16; women, 0.18): 1.89 for near visual impairment (men, 1.36; women, 2.40), 1.89 for distance visual impairment (men, 1.40; women, 2.34), and 2.43 for any visual impairment (men, 1.81; women, 3.02). Regional inequalities in the prevalence of visual impairment were observed, correlated with regional income, and the prevalence was consistently higher among women than men. The magnitude of the inequalities remained after adjusting for age and educational level, and a north-to-south pattern of increasing prevalence was observed.

      Conclusions

      Regional and sex inequalities in the prevalence of visual impairment and blindness were observed in Spain, with a north-to-south gradient of increasing prevalence that was not explained by age or individual educational level but was correlated with regional level of economic development. Factors that could be prioritized for future policies and research include differential regional economic development, rural environment, quality of eye care services, diabetes, ultraviolet light exposure, or gender inequalities in diagnostic and therapeutic health care.

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      Article Info

      Publication History

      Published online: September 18, 2013
      Accepted: July 15, 2013
      Received in revised form: July 15, 2013
      Received: February 12, 2013

      Footnotes

      Financial Disclosure(s): The author(s) have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article.

      Identification

      DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ophtha.2013.07.017

      Copyright

      © 2014 American Academy of Ophthalmology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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