Prevalence and associated factors of visual impairment among adults attending Phelophepa Train, South Africa

Background: Visual impairment (VI) is caused by various conditions such as uncorrected refractive error (URE), cataracts, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy (DR), trauma and HIV or AIDS complications. Aim: This study determines the prevalence and associated factors of VI among adults aged 35 years and older attending the Phelophepa Train in the Eastern Cape. Setting: Data were collected at the Phelophepa eye clinic using participants from the Eastern Cape province, South Africa. Methods: A quantitative and cross-sectional study was conducted using a systematic random sampling method to select a sample of record cards from 563 participants. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to perform bivariate analyses, linear regression analysis and confidence intervals (CI). Results: The mean age was 59.17 ± 12.95 years (range = 35–93 years). The prevalence of VI and blindness was 57.6% (95% CI: 53.0% – 61.0%), VI was 51% and blindness at 6.6%. The majority were females and resided in rural areas, with low socioeconomic status being a significant risk factor for VI (P < 0.001). The primary causes of VI were URE (38%), cataracts (20%), glaucoma (2.3%), DR (1.6%) and corneal opacities (0.5%). The most prevalent chronic diseases were hypertension (HTN) (28.4%), followed by comorbidities of HTN and diabetes mellitus (DM) (17.94%), HIV/AIDS (7.82%) and DM (5.20%) (P = 0.01). Conclusion: Visual impairment and blindness among adults ≥ 35 years old were high, with primary causes including URE, cataracts, glaucoma, DR and corneal opacities. Contribution: Sustainable programmes should be established to provide optimal optical correction for UREs and cataract removal.