Causes of Visual Impairment in the Bolgatanga Municipality in the Upper East Region of Ghana

Abstract Objective: To profile the causes of visual impairment in the Bolgatanga municipality. Method: A retrospective study was conducted at the Presbyterian Regional Eye Hospital in Bolgatanga, Upper East region from October 2017 through April 2018. New cases aged 6 years and above, were included in this study based on presenting distance visual acuity. The variables, presenting distance visual acuity, primary diagnosis, refractive error status and demographic data were obtained from patients’ records and analyzed using SPSS, Version16.2 (version 16.2, SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). The data obtained were analyzed descriptively while a Chi-squared test was used to analyze the strengths of association between qualitative where P<0.05 denoted a statistical significance. Results: Out of the 4659 new cases reviewed, 1323 were included in the study giving an overall calculated prevalence of visual impairment of 28.4%. The mean age was 60.44±19.66 years. The prevalence rates of the different grades of visual impairment were found to be: 63.9% for moderate visual impairment (MVI), 4.9% for Severe Visual Impairment (SVI), and 28.9% for blindness. The leading causes of low vision were cataract, uncorrected refractive error, glaucoma, and corneal-related disorders while the main causes of blindness were cataract, glaucoma, and corneal-related disorders. Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of visual impairment in the Bolgatanga Municipality and most of the causes are treatable. Older age, unemployment, being a female (gender) and being a widow/widower (marital status) are the socio-demographic risk factors identified.