Causes of blindness and visual impairment
In spite of the progress made in surgical techniques in many countries during the last ten years, cataract (47.9%) remains the leading cause of visual impairment in all areas of the world, except for developed countries.
Other main causes of visual impairment in 2002 are
glaucoma (12.3%),
age-related macular degeneration (AMD) (8.7%),
corneal opacities (5.1%),
diabetic retinopathy (4.8%),
childhood blindness (3.9%),
trachoma (3.6%), and
onchocerciasis (0.8%).
The causes of avoidable visual impairment world wide are all the above except for AMD. In the least-developed countries, and in particular Sub-Saharan Africa, the causes of avoidable blindness are primarily, cataract (50%), glaucoma (15%), corneal opacities (10%), trachoma (6.8%), childhood blindness (5.3%) and onchocerciasis (4%).
