Visual impairment and blindness among children from schools for the blind in Maharashtra state, India: Changing trends over the last decade

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dc.contributor.authorKulkarni, Suchetaen_US
dc.contributor.authorGilbert, Clareen_US
dc.contributor.authorGiri, Nileshen_US
dc.contributor.authorHankare, Pravinen_US
dc.contributor.authorDole, Kuldeepen_US
dc.contributor.authorDeshpande, Men_US
dc.date.accessioned2023-08-25T06:32:04Z
dc.date.available2023-08-25T06:32:04Z
dc.date.issued2022-02
dc.description.abstractPurpose: To determine the causes of severe visual impairment and blindness in children in schools for the blind in Maharashtra, India. Methods: Children aged <16 years, enrolled in the schools for the blind in Maharashtra state, India were examined between October 2018 and December 2019. The anatomical sites and etiology for blindness were recorded using the World Health Organization’s standard reporting form. Causes of blindness were compared among different regions of the state and also by different age groups. Results: Of the 1,969 students examined from 39 schools for the blind, 188 children (9.5%) had severe visual impairment and 1,666 children (84.6%) were blind. Whole globe anomalies (794, 42.8%) were the most common anatomical site of vision loss in children, followed by corneal (289, 15.6%) and retinal abnormalities (280, 15.2%). Corneal causes were second most common in the poorer districts of Vidarbha (15.3%) and Marathwada (14.6%), whereas retinal causes were second most common in the wealthier regions of western Maharashtra (18.3%) and Khandesh (24.1%). Nearly one?third (593, 32%) of children were blind from potentially avoidable causes. Preventable blindness consisting of corneal causes and retinopathy of prematurity was seen in 281 (15.2%) cases, whereas treatable causes comprising of lens?related causes, glaucomas, refractive errors, amblyopia, and uveitis accounted for another 311 (16.8%). Among the younger children (?10 years), the proportion of corneal blindness was lower (83/623, 13.3% vs. 206/1232, 16.7%) and that of retinal blindness was higher (119/623, 19% vs. 163/1232, 13.2%) than the older children. Conclusion: Whole globe anomalies constitute a major cause of SVI and blindness in Maharashtra. There seems to be an increase in the proportion of retinal blindness, especially retinopathy of prematurity, suggesting a need for increased screening coverageen_US
dc.identifier.affiliationsDepartment of Community Ophthalmology and Retina, PBMA’s H. V. Desai Eye Hospital, Pune, Maharashtra, Indiaen_US
dc.identifier.affiliationsDepartment of Clinical Research, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UKen_US
dc.identifier.citationKulkarni Sucheta, Gilbert Clare, Giri Nilesh, Hankare Pravin, Dole Kuldeep, Deshpande M. Visual impairment and blindness among children from schools for the blind in Maharashtra state, India: Changing trends over the last decade. Indian Journal of Ophthalmology. 2022 Feb; 70(2): 597-603en_US
dc.identifier.issn1998-3689
dc.identifier.issn0301-4738
dc.identifier.placeIndiaen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://imsear.searo.who.int/handle/123456789/224148
dc.languageenen_US
dc.publisherAll India Ophthalmological Societyen_US
dc.relation.issuenumber2en_US
dc.relation.volume70en_US
dc.source.urihttps://doi.org/10.4103/ijo.IJO_1930_21en_US
dc.subjectChildhood blindnessen_US
dc.subjectIndiaen_US
dc.subjectMaharashtraen_US
dc.subjectschools for blinden_US
dc.subjectvisual impairmenten_US
dc.titleVisual impairment and blindness among children from schools for the blind in Maharashtra state, India: Changing trends over the last decadeen_US
dc.typeJournal Articleen_US
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