Hannah Kuper|Sarah Polack|Cristina Eusebio|Wanjiku Mathenge|Zakia Wadud|Allen Foster
A Case-Control Study to Assess the Relationship between Poverty and Visual Impairment from Cataract in Kenya, the Philippines, and Bangladesh
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine|London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine|Cataract Foundation of the Philippines|Kenya Land Alliance|London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine|Child Health Research Foundation|London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
link poverty health central millennium development goals mdgs poverty cause consequence poor health epidemiological studies exploring complex relationship aim study examine association visual impairment cataract poverty adults kenya bangladesh philippinesa populationbased casecontrol study conducted three countries 20052006 cases persons aged 50 older visually impaired due cataract visual acuity 624 better eye controls persons age sexmatched case participants normal vision selected cluster household expenditure assessed collection detailed consumption data asset ownership selfrated wealth also measured total 596 cases 535 controls included analyses kenya 142 cases 75 controls bangladesh 216 cases 279 controls philippines 238 cases 180 controls case participants likely lowest quartile per capita expenditure pce compared controls kenya odds ratio 23 95 confidence interval 0955 bangladesh 19 1132 philippines 31 1757 significant doseresponse relationship across quartiles pce associations persisted adjustment selfrated health social support indicators similar pattern observed relationship cataract visual impairment asset ownership selfrated wealth consistent pattern association pce level visual impairment due cataract sex age among three countriesour data show people visual impairment due cataract poorer normal sight three lowincome countries studied mdgs committed eradication extreme poverty provision health care poor people study highlights need increased provision cataract surgery poor people particularly vulnerable visual impairment cataract