Prevalence of Childhood Blindness in State of Jharkhand, a Region of Eastern India

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Prevalence of Childhood Blindness in State of Jharkhand, a Region of Eastern India

Journal Title: International Journal of Contemporary Medical Research - Year 2017, Vol 4, Issue 5

Abstract

Introduction: Childhood blindness is a global problem in developing countries. We have over one fourth of total blind population worldwide and the number is still increasing. 22- 100 new children per million of total population get added to blind population per year in India. This study was undertaken to estimate the prevalence of childhood blindness in the state of Jharkhand for public health interest. Data in this regard is lacking in our country, particularly in eastern region of India. Material and methods: It was a prospective, hospital based study done in Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi, a tertiary care teaching institute in Jharkhand. The study was done from July 2015 to December 2016. Children under 16 years of age were included in this study. Comprehensive eye examination was done in every child and best corrected visual acuities were recorded under standardized conditions with LogMar chart. Children under 3 years and those who cannot understand the ‘E chart’ were assessed for their ability to fix and follow the light at objects. The diagnosis was based on clinical examination and was assisted by sophisticated investigations like electroretinography, neuroimaging of the brain with CT scan and pathological tests. Results: A total number of 48627 patients were examined in aforesaid period, out of which 12103(24.8%) were children. Boys (58.8%) outnumber the girls (41.7%). Majority of the children (60.7%) having visual impairment were from urban background. Present study revealed that 21.2% children were visually impaired. The incidence of childhood blindness was 1.71%. 14.2% children had low grade of visual impairment and 5.2% of children had moderate visual impairment. Conclusion: As far as prevalence of childhood blindness in this eastern part of India is concerned, more than two third (71.5%) of children has visual impairment due to refractive error which can be easily treated and 83.7% of childhood blindness was due to avoidable causes, of which injury was the leading cause (5.6%), followed by vitamin A deficiency and malnutrition (4.4%) and infection (2.1%). Remedial measures should be taken to improve the visual status of children to lower the incidence of childhood blindness. Regular school health and population screening can be a major step in planning for its prevention and cure.

Authors and Affiliations

Vishal . , Rajiv Kumar Gupta, Anuj Kumar Pathak

Keywords

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EP ID EP427988
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