Social inequalities in blindness and visual impairment: A review of social determinants

Indian Journal of Ophthalmology

Volumn 60, Issue 5, 2012, Pages 368-375

  Ulldemolins, Anna Rius ^a   Lansingh, Van C ^b   Valencia, Laura Guisasola ^a   Carter, Marissa J ^c   Eckert, Kristen A ^c  

^a UNIVERSITAT POLITÈCNICA DE CATALUNYA   (Spain)

^b Fondazione Policlinico Universitario "Agostino Gemelli" IRCCS   (United States)

^c Strategic Solutions Inc   (United States)

Author keywords

blindness; educational status; gender and ethnic groups; income; inequality; social class; Visual impairment

Indexed keywords

BLINDNESS; EDUCATIONAL STATUS; HEALTH; HEALTH SURVEY; HUMAN; PREVALENCE; REVIEW; SOCIOECONOMICS; VISUAL DISORDER;

BLINDNESS; EDUCATIONAL STATUS; HEALTH SURVEYS; HUMANS; PREVALENCE; SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS; VISION, LOW; WORLD HEALTH;

EID: 84866367317     PISSN: 03014738     EISSN: 19983689     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.4103/0301-4738.100529     Document Type: Review

References (85)

1. Whitehead M. The concepts and principles of equity and health. Int J Health Serv 1992;22:429-45.
2. People's Health Movement. People's Charter for Health [Internet]. c2012. Available from: http://www.phmovement.org/sites/www.phmovement.org/files/phm- pch-english.pdf. [Last cited on 2012 Feb 9].
3. Marmot MG. Policy making with healthy equity at its heart. JAMA 2012;307:2033-4.
4. Marmot MG. Understanding social inequalities in health. Perspect Biol Med 2003;46(3 Suppl):S9-23.
5. Commission on Social Determinants of Health [Internet]. Closing the gap in a generation: Health equity through action on the social determinants of health. Geneva: WHO; c2008. Available from: http://www.who.int/social- determinants/thecommission/finalreport/en/index.html. [Last cited on 2012 May 22].
6. Solar O, Irwin AS. A conceptual framework for action on the social determinants of health. Social determinants of health discussion paper 2 (Policy and Practice). Geneva: World Health Organization; 2010.
7. Dandona R, Dandona L. Socioeconomic status and blindness. Br J Ophthalmol 2001;85:1484-8.
8. Abou-Gareeb I, Lewallen S, Bassett K, Courtright P. Gender and blindness: A meta-analysis of population-based prevalence surveys. Ophthalmic Epidemiol 2001;8:39-56.
9. Kyari F, Gudlavalleti MV, Sivsubramaniam S, Gilbert CE, Abdull MM, Entekume G, et al. Prevalence of blindness and visual impairment in Nigeria: The national blindness and visual Impairment Study. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2009;50:2033-9.
10. Berhane Y, Worku A, Bejiga A, Adamu L, Alemayehu W, Bedri A, et al. Prevalence and causes of blindness and low vision in Ethiopia. Ethiop J Health Dev 2007;21:204-10.
11. Cedrone C, Nucci C, Scuderi G, Ricci F, Cerulli A, Culasso F. Prevalence of blindness and low vision in an Italian population: A comparison with other European studies. Eye (Lond) 2006;20:661-7.
12. Istituto Nazionale di Statistica. Indagine multiscopo sulle famiglie. 'Condizioni di salute e ricorso ai servizi sanitarianni 1999-2000. Roma, Italia: ISTAT; 2002.
13. Gunnlaugsdottir E, Arnarsson A, Jonasson F. Prevalence and causes of visual impairment and blindness in Icelanders aged 50 years and older: The Reykjavik eye study. Acta Ophthalmol 2008;86:778-85.
14. Laitinen A, Koskinen S, Härkänen T, Reunanen A, Laatikainen L, Aromaa A. A nationwide population-based survey on visual acuity, near vision, and self-reported visual function in the adult population in Finland. Ophthalmology 2005;112:2227-37.
15. Mganga H, Lewallen S, Courtright P. Overcoming gender inequity in prevention of blindness and visual impairment in Africa. Middle East Afr J Ophthalmol 2011;18:98-101.
16. United Nations Development Program [Internet]. Human Development Index (HDI). c2012. Available from: http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/hdi/. [Last cited on 2012 Feb 10].
17. Zhang X, Saaddine JB, Lee PP, Grabowski DC, Kanjilal S, Duenas MR, et al. Eye care in the United States: Do we deliver to highrisk people who can benefit most from it? Arch Ophthalmol 2007;125:411-8.
18. Tseng CL, Sambamoorthi U, Rajan M, Tiwari A, Frayne S, Findley P, et al. Are there gender differences in diabetes care among elderly Medicare enrolled veterans? J Gen Intern Med 2006;21 Suppl 3:47-53.
19. Harris B, Sampson G. Gender differences in the utilisation of optometric services in Victoria. Clin Exp Optom 2005;88:109-12.
20. Stang A, Jöckel KH. Visual disturbances in a population-based survey of 6962 subjects: The German national health examination survey 1998. Eur J Public Health 2003;13:202-9.
21. Lee DJ, Lam BL, Arora S, Arheart KL, McCollister KE, Zheng DD, et al. Reported eye care utilization and health insurance status among US adults. Arch Ophthalmol 2009;127:303-10.
22. Khandekar R, Mohammed AJ. Gender inequality in vision loss and eye diseases: Evidence from the Sultanate of Oman. Indian J Ophthalmol 2009;57:443-9.
23. Carter MJ, Limburg H, Lansingh VC, Silva JC, Resnikoff S. Do gender inequities exist in cataract surgical coverage? Meta-analysis in Latin America. Clin Experiment Ophthalmol 2012;40:458-66.
24. Brilliant CE, Lepkowski JM, Zwita B, Thulasiraj RD. Social determinants of cataract surgery utilization in South India. Arch Ophthalmol 1991;109:584-9.
25. Fletcher AE, Monoghue M, Devavaram J, Thulasiraj RD, Scott S, Abdallah M, et al. Low uptake of eye services in rural India. Arch Ophthalmol 1999;117:1393-9.
26. Upadhyay MP. Rethinking eye care: From exclusion to equity. Nepal J Ophthalmol 2010;2:1-2.
27. Lewallen S, Mousa A, Bassett K, Courtright P. Cataract surgical coverage remains lower in women. Br J Ophthalmol 2009;93:295-8.
28. Nirmalan PK, Padmavathi A, Thulasiraj RD. Sex inequities in cataract blindness burden and surgical services in south India. Br J Ophthalmol 2003;87:847-9.
29. Nkomazana O. Disparity in access to cataract surgical services leads to higher prevalence of blindness in women as compared to men: Results of a national survey of visual impairment. Health Care Women Int 2009;30:228-9.
30. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reasons for not seeking eye care among adults aged ≥40 years with moderateto- severe visual impairment-21 States, 2006-2009. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2011;60:610-3.
31. Melese M, Alemayehu W, Friedlander E, Courtright P. Indirect costs associated with accessing eye care services as a barrier to service use in Ethiopia. Trop Med Int Health 2004;9:426-31.
32. Fouad D, Mousa A, Courtright P. Sociodemographic characteristics associated with blindness in a Nile Delta governorate of Egypt. Br J Ophthalmol 2004;88:614-8.
33. Brezin AP, Lafuma A, Fagnani F, Mesbah M, Berdeaux G. Prevalence and burden of self-reported blindness, low vision, and visual impairment in the French community: A nationwide survey. Arch Ophthalmol 2005;123:1117-24.
34. Frick KD, Gower EW, Kempen JH, Wolff JL. Economic impact of visual impairment and blindness in the United States. Arch Ophthalmol 2007;125:544-50.
35. Kuper H, Polack S, Eusebio C, Mathenge W, Wadud Z, Foster A. A case-control study to assess the relationship between poverty and visual impairment from cataract in Kenya, the Philippines, and Bangladesh. PLoS Med 2008;5:e244.
36. Dandona L, Dandona R, Srinivas M, Giridhar P, Vilas K, Prasad MN, et al. Blindness in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2001;42:908-16.
37. Wilson CJ, Rust G, Levine R, Alema-Mensah E. Disparities in vision impairment Among adults in the United States. Ethn Dis 2008;18 Suppl 2):S242-6.
38. Salive ME, Guralnik J, Christen W, Glynn RJ, Colsher P, Ostfeld AM. Functional blindness and visual impairment in older adults from three communities. Ophthalmology 1992;99:1840-7.
39. Bailey RN, Indian RW, Zhang X, Geiss LS, Duenas MR, Saaddine JB. Visual impairment and eye care among older adults - five States, 2005. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2006;55:1321-5.
40. Tielsch JM, Sommer A, Katz J, Quigley H, Ezrine S. Socioeconomic status and visual impairment Among urban Americans. Baltimore Eye Survey Research Group. Arch Ophthalmol 1991;109:637-41.
41. Livingston PM, McCarty CA, Taylor HR. Visual impairment and socioeconomic factors. Br J Ophthalmol 1997;81:574-7.
42. Resnikoff S, Pascolini D, Etyaale D, Kocur I, Pararajasegaram R, Pokharel GP, et al. Global data on visual impairment in the year 2002. Bull World Health Organ 2004;82:844-51.
43. Ho VH, Schwab IR. Social economic development in the global prevention of blindness. Br J Ophthalmol 2001;85:653-7.
44. Liu JH, Cheng CY, Chen SJ, Lee FL. Visual impairment in a Taiwanese population: Prevalence, causes, and socioeconomic factors. Ophthalmic Epidemiol 2001;8:339-50.
45. Ryskulova A, Turczyn K, Makuc DM, Cotch MF, Klein RJ, Janiszewski R. Self-reported age-related eye diseases and visual impairment in the United States: Results of the 2002 national health interview survey. Am J Public Health 2008;98:454-61.
46. Murthy GV, Gupta SK, Bachani D, Jose R, John N. Current estimates of blindness in India. Br J Ophthalmol 2005;89:257-60.
47. Song W, Sun X, Shao Z, Zhou X, Kang Y, Sui H, et al. Prevalence and causes of visual impairment in a rural North-east China adult population: A population-based survey in Bin County, Harbin. Acta Ophthalmol 2010;88:669-74.
48. Jadoon MZ, Dineen B, Bourne RR, Shah SP, Khan MA, Johnson GJ, et al. Prevalence of blindness and visual impairment in Pakistan: The Pakistan National Blindness and Visual Impairment Survey. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2006;47:4749-55.
49. Entekume G, Patel J, Sivasubramaniam S, Gilbert CE, Ezelum CC, Murthy GV, et al. Prevalence, causes, and risk factors for functional low vision in Nigeria: Results from the national survey of blindness and visual impairment. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2011;52:6714-9.
50. Mojon-Azzi SM, Sousa-Poza A, Mojon DS. Impact of low vision on employment. Ophthalmologica 2010;224:381-8.
51. Alonso J. Una propuesta de medida de la clase social. Aten Primaria 2000;25:132-51. Spanish.
52. Rahi JS, Cumberland PM, Peckham CS. Visual function in workingage adults: Early life influences and associations with health and social outcomes. Ophthalmology 2009;116:1866-71.
53. Varma R, Chung J, Foong AW, Torres M, Choudhury F, Azen SP. Four-year incidence and progression of visual impairment in Latinos: The Los Angeles Latino Eye Study. Am J Ophthalmol 2010;149:713-27.
54. Landers J, Henderson T, Craig J. The prevalence and causes of visual impairment in indigenous Australians within central Australia: The central Australian ocular health study. Br J Ophthalmol 2010;94:1140-4.
55. Brown AF, Gregg EW, Stevens MR, Karter AJ, Weinberger M, Safford MM, et al. Race, ethnicity, socioeconomic position, and quality of care for adults with diabetes enrolled in managed care. The Translating Research Into Action for Diabetes (TRIAD) study. Diabetes Care 2005;28:2864-70.
56. Bailey RN, Indian RW, Zhang X, Geiss LS, Duenas MR, Saaddine JB. Centers for disease control and prevention. Visual impairment and eye care among older adults - five States, 2005. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2006;55:1321-5.
57. Pascolini D, Mariotti SP. Global estimates of visual impairment: 2010. Br J Ophthalmol 2012;96:614-8.
58. Ono K, Hiratsuka Y, Murakami A. Global inequity in eye health: Country-level analysis from the global burden of disease study. Am J Public Health 2010;100:1784-8.
59. International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness [Internet]. 2010 Report. London: IAPB; c2012. Available from: http://www.vision2020.org/ documents/publications/SotWS%20Report-wth-Stop-Press.pdf. [Last cited on 2012 Jan 31].
60. Pascolini D, Mariotti SP, Pokharel GP, Pararajasegaram R, Etyaale D, Négrel AD, et al. 2002 global update of available data on visual impairment: A compilation of population-based prevalence studies. Ophthalmic Epidemiol 2004;11:67-115.
61. Lafuma AJ, Brézin AP, Fagnani FL, Mesbah M, Berdeaux GH. Prevalence of visual impairment in relation to the number of ophthalmologists in a given area: A nationwide approach. Health Qual Life Outcomes 2006;4:34.
62. Zheng Y, Lamoureux E, Finkelstein E, Wu R, Lavanya R, Chua D, et al. Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore. Independent impact of area-level socioeconomic measures on visual impairment. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2011;52:8799-805.
63. Sit AJ, Chipman M, Trope GE. Blindness registrations and socioeconomic factors in Canada: An ecologic study. Ophthalmic Epidemiol 2004;11:199-211.
64. Krieger N. Methods for the scientific study of discrimination and health: An ecosocial approach. Am J Public Health 2012;102:936-44.
65. Borrell C, Artazcoz L, Gil-González D, Pérez K, Pérez G, Vives-Cases C, et al. Determinants of perceived sexism and their role on the association of sexism with mental health. Women Health 2011;51:583-603.
66. Courtright P, Lewallen S. Why are we addressing gender issues in vision loss? Community Eye Health 2009;22:17-9.
67. Artazcoz L, Escribà-Agüir V, Cortès I. [Gender, paid work, domestic chores and health in Spain]. Gac Sanit 2004;18 Suppl 2:24-35.
68. Saaddine J, Benjamin S, Pan L, Narayan K, Tierney E, Kanjilal S, et al. Prevalence of visual impairment and selected eye diseases among persons aged >/=50 years with and without diabetes - United States, 2002. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2004;53:1069-71.
69. Al-Shaaln FF, Bakrman MA, Ibrahim AM, Aljoudi AS. Prevalence and causes of visual impairment among Saudi adults attending primary health care centers in northern Saudi Arabia. Ann Saudi Med 2011;31:473-80.
70. Al-Merjan JI, Pandova MG, Al-Ghanim M, Al-Wayel A, Al-Mutairi S. Registered blindness and low vision in Kuwait. Ophthalmic Epidemiol 2005;12:251-7.
71. Neugarten J, Silbiger SR. The impact of gender on renal transplantation. Transplantation 1994;58:1145-52.
72. Schaubel DE, Stewart DE, Morrison HI, Zimmerman DL, Cameron JI, Jeffery JJ, et al. Sex Inequality in kidney transplantation rates. Arch Intern Med 2000;160:2349-54.
73. Steingart RM, Packer M, Hamm P, Coglianese ME, Gersh B, Geltman EM, et al. Sex differences in the management of coronary artery disease. Survival and Ventricular Enlargement Investigators. N Engl J Med 1991;325:226-30.
74. Heston TF, Lewis LM. Gender bias in the evaluation and management of acute nontraumatic chest pain. Fam Pract Res J 1992;12:383-9.
75. Ruiz-Cantero MT, Verdú-Delgado M. Gender bias in treatment. Gac Sanit 2004;18 Suppl 1:118-25. Spanish.
76. Vajaranant TS, Nayak S, Wilensky JT, Joslin CE. Gender and glaucoma: What we know and what we need to know. Curr Opin Ophthalmol 2010;21:91-9.
77. Chakravarthy U, Wong TY, Fletcher A, Piault E, Evans C, Zlateva G, et al. Clinical risk factors for age-related macular degeneration: A systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Ophthalmol 2010;10:31.
78. Krieger N. Embodiment: A conceptual glossary for epidemiology. J Epidemiol Community Health 2005;59:350-5.
79. Ayanniyi AA, Olatunji FO, Adeboye A, Ayanniyi RO. Awareness and knowledge of eye care providers among government workers in Ilorin, Nigeria. Niger Postgrad Med J 2010;17:133-7.
80. Baker RS, Bazargan M, Bazargan-Hejazi S, Calderón JL. Access to vision care in an urban low-income multiethnic population. Ophthalmic Epidemiol 2005;12:1-12.
81. Hollands H, Brox AC, Chang A, Adilman S, Chakraborti B, Kliever G, et al. Correctable visual impairment and its impact on quality of life in a marginalized Canadian neighbourhood. Can J Ophthalmol 2009;44:42-8.
82. Ndegwa LK, Karimurio J, Okelo RO, Adala HS. Barriers to utilization of eye care services in Kibera slums of Nairobi. East Afr Med J 2005;82:506-8.
83. Leese GP, Boyle P, Feng Z, Emslie-Smith A, Ellis JD. Screening uptake in a well-established diabetic retinopathy screening program. Diabetes Care 2008;31:2131-5.
84. Dandona R, Dandona L, John RK, McCarty CA, Rao GN. Awareness of eye diseases in an urban population in southern India. Bull World Health Organ 2001;79:96-102.
85. Salomao SR, Cinoto RW, Berezovsky A, Araujo-Filho A, Mitsuhiro MR, Mendieta L, et al. Prevalence and causes of vision impairment and blindness in older adults in Brazil: the Sao Paulo Eye Study. Ophthalmic Epidemiol 2008;15:167-75.