Trend, Pattern and Presentation of Visual Impairment and Blindness among Students of Schools for the Blind in South-East Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction: The prevalence and distribution of major causes of blindness in children  vary based on  the availability of primary health care and eye care services, and under-5 mortality rates amongst others.  Irrespective of the aetiology, blind children have a lifetime to live with the disability and this places enormous pressure on the family unit and the society. Data on the magnitude of blindness is usually gotten from schools for the blind. This study aimed to identify the recent trend, and presentation of visual impairment and blindness among students in schools for the blind located in southeast Nigeria. Methods: This was a cross sectional descriptive study conducted among visually impaired students in schools for the blind in southeast, Nigeria. A total of 92 students were examined from three randomly selected schools out of the six schools in this region. Results: There was a male to female ratio of 1.3:1, an age range of 8-32 years with a mean age of 18.4   6.4 years.  Majority of the students (85.9%) were blind with visual acuity <3/60, and 14.1% had visual impairment.  Glaucoma was the leading cause of blindness followed by cataract and most known causes of blindness occurred in childhood. Conclusion: Most of the causes of blindness were from preventable and treatable causes. Increasing the availability of specialized eye care services for children, and improving  primary health services will reduce the prevalence of blindness due to avoidable causes.