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The burden of onchocerciasis: children leading blind adults in Africa. Childhood blindness can be caused by conditions related to pregnancy, such as congenital rubella syndrome and retinopathy of prematurity. Leprosy and onchocerciasis each blind approximately 1 million individuals in the developing world.
This condition is one of the leading causes that leads to blindness in patients in the age range of 20–60 years old. Retinitis may be caused by several infectious agents, including toxoplasmosis, [1] cytomegalovirus and candida. [2] Cytomegalovirus retinitis is an important cause of blindness in AIDS patients. [2]
It was estimated by the WHO in 2004 that 314 million people worldwide are vision impaired (from all causes), of whom 45 million are blind. [14] Vision disorders are not often targeted by public health initiatives, as mortality causes take priority. [15]
There are many diseases known to cause ocular or visual changes. Diabetes , for example, is the leading cause of new cases of blindness in those aged 20–74, with ocular manifestations such as diabetic retinopathy and macular edema affecting up to 80% of those who have had the disease for 15 years or more.
Frequently, retinopathy is an ocular manifestation of systemic disease as seen in diabetes or hypertension. [3] Diabetes is the most common cause of retinopathy in the U.S. as of 2008. [4] Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in working-aged people. [5]
Retinitis pigmentosa is the leading cause of inherited blindness, [51] with approximately 1/4,000 individuals experiencing the non-syndromic form of their disease within their lifetime. [52] It is estimated that 1.5 million people worldwide are currently affected.
This disease can lead to visual impairment and sometimes complete blindness in one or both eyes. FEVR is characterized by incomplete vascularization of the peripheral retina. This can lead to the growth of new blood vessels which are prone to leakage and hemorrhage and can cause retinal folds, tears, and detachments.
It is the cause of approximately 5% of blindness in the United States and nearly 60% of blindness in parts of Africa and South America. [12] Blindness from cataracts occurs in about 10 to 40 per 100,000 children in the developing world, and 1 to 4 per 100,000 children in the developed world. [7] Cataracts become more common with age. [1]