Prevalence of Visual Acuity Loss or Blindness in the US: A Bayesian Meta-analysis

Key Points Question How many people in the US are living with uncorrectable visual acuity loss or blindness? Findings This bayesian meta-analysis generated an estimate that, in 2017, there were 7.08 million people living with visual acuity loss, of whom 1.08 million were living with blindness. Meaning Per this study, uncorrectable visual acuity loss and blindness are even larger drivers of health burden in the US than was previously known.
This meta-analysis combines population-based surveys and data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vision and Eye Health Surveillance System to produce estimates of visual acuity loss and blindness by age, sex, race/ethnicity, and US state.
Importance Globally, more than 250 million people live with visual acuity loss or blindness, and people in the US fear losing vision more than memory, hearing, or speech. But it appears there are no recent empirical estimates of visual acuity loss or blindness for the US. Objective To produce estimates of visual acuity loss and blindness by age, sex, race/ethnicity, and US state. Data Sources Data from the American Community Survey (2017), National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2008), and National Survey of Children’s Health (2017), as well as population-based studies (2000-2013), were included. Study Selection All relevant data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vision and Eye Health Surveillance System were included. Data Extraction and Synthesis The prevalence of visual acuity loss or blindness was estimated, stratified when possible by factors including US state, age group, sex, race/ethnicity, and community-dwelling or group-quarters status. Data analysis occurred from March 2018 to March 2020. Main Outcomes or Measures The prevalence of visual acuity loss (defined as a best-corrected visual acuity greater than or equal to 0.3 logMAR) and blindness (defined as a logMAR of 1.0 or greater) in the better-seeing eye. Results For 2017, this meta-analysis generated an estimated US prevalence of 7.08 (95% uncertainty interval, 6.32-7.89) million people living with visual acuity loss, of whom 1.08 (95% uncertainty interval, 0.82-1.30) million people were living with blindness. Of this, 1.62 (95% uncertainty interval, 1.32-1.92) million persons with visual acuity loss are younger than 40 years, and 141 000 (95% uncertainty interval, 95 000-187 000) persons with blindness are younger than 40 years. Conclusions and Relevance This analysis of all available data with modern methods produced estimates substantially higher than those previously published.