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Purpose: To determine the prevalence and risk factors for near and far visual difficulty in Burkina Faso. Methods: Population-based data were used from the World Health Survey done in Burkina Faso in 2002-2003 (n = 4,822 adults). Near and far visual difficulty were assessed by questions about difficulty seeing and recognizing an object at arm's length and about difficulty seeing and recognizing a person across the road. Prevalence estimates were adjusted for the multi-stage, stratified, random cluster sampling design. Logistic regression was used to identify independent risk factors. Results: The overall prevalence of any near and far visual difficulty was 10% (standard error [SE] = 0.7%) and 13% (SE = 0.9%) respectively. Prevalence estimates were strongly associated with age with 48% (SE = 4.2%) and 66% (SE = 3.9%) of those ≥ 65 years old having near or far visual difficulty ( P < 0.001). Only 5% (SE = 0.6%) of people wore glasses. We identified two potentially modifiable variables associated with near visual difficulty: a cooking stove in the same room as sleeping area (Odds Ratio [OR] = 1.45, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.01, 2.02) and high fruit consumption (OR = 0.65, 95% CI 0.50, 0.86). Conclusion: The prevalence of visual difficulty was high in Burkina Faso. Efforts to confirm these findings with cooking stove location and fruit consumption should be undertaken in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]