Visual Impairment and Cataract Blindness in Cuba in 2016

Abstract

Purpose: To describe visual disability due to cataract in the population aged 50 years and older and the coverage of ophthalmologic care in Cuba during 2016.

Methods: An epidemiological, descriptive and cross-sectional research was conducted in people aged 50 years and older, who took the rapid survey of avoidable blindness conducted in Cuba in 2016. With the data obtained from the questionnaires, a database was made. The sample, distributed in 112 clusters, consisted of 3 920 inhabitants. The variables studied were visual impairment, type of surgery, time of surgery, visual results and causes of poor results.

Results: The prevalence of bilateral blindness was 1 %, for severe visual impairment, 2.7 % and for moderate visual impairment 9.0 %. Good visual outcomes were observed in 66.2 % of the eyes studied, of which 69.2 % were implanted with an intraocular lens. Ocular comorbidities (67.1 %) were the most frequent cause of poor postsurgical visual outcomes and accounted for 44.7 % in the total number of affected eyes.

Conclusions: The risk of presenting blindness due to cataract is 1 %. Moderate visual impairment is the most prevalent. In all ranges of disability, bilateral cataract does not show differences between genders, but in unilateral cataract the male gender is the most frequent. The first cause of poor postoperative outcomes are refractive disorders in moderate visual impairment and ocular comorbidities for severe visual impairment and blindness.