The prevalence of vision impairment and blindness among older adults in India: findings from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India

Vision impairment and blindness are strongly associated with aging and late-life disability. While home to about 17% of the world's population, an estimated 25% of visually impaired people globally live in India. This proportion is expected to increase as India's population rapidly ages and continues to grow. There is a need for up-to-date epidemiologic data on the prevalence of vision impairment and blindness in India and on the socioeconomic determinants of poor vision, especially among older adults, to promote visual and overall health and well-being in later life. This paper uses newly available data from Wave 1 (2017-2019) of the population-based Longitudinal Ageing Study in India to estimate the overall and sex-specific prevalence of presenting visual acuity impairment and blindness among individuals aged 45 and older at the national level and for all constituent states and union territories. Overall, 33.8% (95% confidence interval: 33.31%, 34.26%) of the Indian population aged 45 and older had distance visual acuity impairment or was blind (visual acuity in the better-seeing eye < 20/40). The age-standardized prevalence varied considerably among states (22.3-54.6%), and women were more likely than men to be visually impaired or blind in all states. Near visual acuity impairment was also highly prevalent (43.0%, 95% confidence interval: 42.45%, 43.46%). Vision impairment and blindness were more common among marginalized groups and were associated with lower socioeconomic status. Findings from this study are relevant for surveillance of vision health, design of targeted eye care policies and programs and efforts to promote human and economic development. The prevalence and consequences of vision impairment are increasing due to population growth and aging. This study finds that in India, one in three older adults has distance visual impairment or is blind, which may impact not only how they see the world, but also their overall health and well-being.