Prevalence and years lived with disability (YLDs) due to vision loss in the Middle East and North Africa region, 1990-2019

Abstract

Vision loss is a substantial public health issue that has important implications for an individual’s quality of life. The present study aimed to report the burden of vision loss from 1990 to 2019 in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region by age, sex, underlying cause and sociodemographic index (SDI). Methods: Publicly available data on the prevalence and years lived with disability (YLDs) due to vision loss were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease study 2019. The data were obtained for the 21 countries located in the MENA region from 1990 to 2019. All estimates were reported as counts and age-standardised rates per 100000, together with their 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs). Results: In 2019, MENA had an age-standardised point prevalence of 7040.0 (95% UI: 6195.0, 8002.7) and an YLD rate of 314.5 (222.1, 427.6) per 100000, which are 11.1% (-12.5, -9.7) and 24.3% (-27.6, -20.8) lower, respectively, than in 1990. In 2019, Afghanistan [469.6 (333.0, 632.8)] had the highest age-standardised YLD rate and Turkey [210.7 (145.3, 290.9)] had the lowest. All countries showed a decrease in the age-standardised point prevalence and YLD rate between 1990 and 2019, except for Oman, Afghanistan, and Yemen. Furthermore, in 2019 the highest number of prevalent cases and YLDs were in the 65-69 age group. Also in 2019, the age-standardised YLD rates in MENA were higher than the global estimates in most age groups, for both males and females. In 2019, refractive disorders were the most common types of vision loss among children, adolescents, and middle-age adults in MENA, while near vision loss and cataracts were the most common among older adults. Finally, the burden of vision loss had a slightly negatively association with SDI over the period 1990-2019.