Association of vision impairment and blindness with socioeconomic status in adults 50 years and older from Alto Amazonas, Peru.
Nesemann, John M;
Morocho-Alburqueque, Noelia;
Quincho-Lopez, Alvaro;
Muñoz, Marleny;
Liliana-Talero, Sandra;
Harding-Esch, Emma M;
Saboyá-Díaz, Martha Idalí;
Honorio-Morales, Harvy A;
Durand, Salomón;
Carey-Angeles, Cristiam A;
+3 more...Klausner, Jeffrey D;
Lescano, Andres G;
Keenan, Jeremy D;
(2022)
Association of vision impairment and blindness with socioeconomic status in adults 50 years and older from Alto Amazonas, Peru.
Eye, 37 (3).
pp. 434-439.
ISSN 0950-222X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41433-021-01870-x
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OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and visual impairment (VI) or blindness in the rural Peruvian Amazon, hypothesizing that higher SES would have a protective effect on the odds of VI or blindness. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study of 16 rural communities in the Peruvian Amazon, consenting adults aged ≥ 50 years were recruited from ~30 randomly selected households per village. Each household was administered a questionnaire and had a SES score constructed using principal components analysis. Blindness and VI were determined using a ministry of health 3-meter visual acuity card. RESULTS: Overall, 207 adults aged ≥ 50 were eligible; 146 (70.5%) completed visual acuity screening and answered the questionnaire. Of those 146 participants who completed presenting visual acuity screening, 57 (39.0%, 95% CI 30.2-47.1) were classified as visually impaired and 6 (4.1%, 95% CI 0.9-7.3) as blind. Belonging to the highest SES tercile had a protective effect on VI or blindness (OR 0.29, 95% CI 0.09 to 0.91, p = 0.034), with a linear trend across decreasing levels of SES (p = 0.019). This observed effect remained significant regardless of how SES groups were assigned. CONCLUSION: Belonging to a higher SES group resulted in a lower odds of VI or blindness compared to those in the lowest SES group. The observation of a dose response provides confidence in the observed association, but causality remains unclear. Blindness prevention programs could maximize impact by designing activities that specifically target people with lower SES.