Clare Gilbert|S P Shah|Mohammad Z. Jadoon|Rupert Bourne|Brendan Dineen|Muhammad Asghar Khan|Gordon Johnson|Mohammad Daud Khan
Poverty and blindness in Pakistan: results from the Pakistan national blindness and visual impairment survey
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine|London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine|Hinchingbrooke Hospital|London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine|London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
objective explore association blindness deprivation nationally representative sample adults pakistandesign cross sectional population based surveysetting 221 rural urban clusters selected randomly throughout pakistanparticipants nationally representative sample 16 507 adults aged 30 953response ratemain outcome measures associations visual impairment poverty assessed cluster level deprivation index household level poverty indicator prevalence causes blindness measures rate uptake quality eye care servicesresults 561 blind participants 360 better eye identified surveyclusters urban sindh province affluent whereas rural areas balochistan poorestthe prevalence blindness adults living affluent clusters 22 compared 37 medium clusters 39 poor clusters p0001 affluent v poorthe highest prevalence blindness found rural balochistan 52the prevalence total blindness bilateral light perception three times higher poor clusters affluent clusters 024 v 007 p0001the prevalences blindness caused cataract glaucoma corneal opacity lower affluent clusters householdsreflecting access eye care services cataract surgical coverage higher affluent clusters 806 medium 768 poor areas 751intraocular lens implantation rates significantly lower participants poorer households102 adults living affluent clusters presented examination station wearing spectacles compared 67 medium clusters 44 poor cluster areasspectacle coverage affluent areas double poor clusters 235 v 111 p0001conclusion blindness associated poverty pakistan lower access eye care services one contributory factorto reduce blindness strategies targeting poor people neededthese interventions may impact deprivation pakistan