Prevalence of Vitreoretinal Disorders in a Rural Population of SouthernIndia

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Abstract
Nearly 80% of the considerable burden of blindness in India is attributedto curable causes, such as cataracts and refractive errors.1 Arecent study2 found that retinal disordersare an important cause of blindness in India. It is estimated that there willbe 244 million people (14.9% of the population) 65 years and older by 2050compared with 42 million (4.5% of the population) in 1995.3 Thisshift in demographics is likely to be accompanied by a shift in the prevalenceof retinal diseases as major causes of blindness in India. Several studies4-7 reporton the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in urban populations of India;however, there is a lack of information on the prevalence of DR in rural India.Although age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a major cause of blindnessin European-derived populations and has been previously reported8-13 ata lower prevalence in pigmented populations, there is no information on theprevalence of AMD in India. Such information is essential to understand themagnitude of the problem and the need for services, including rehabilitation.This article reports on the prevalence of vitreoretinal disorders in a ruralpopulation of southern India.