Prevalence and patterns of common eye diseases affecting adults in Busia Village, Katanga Zone, in Kampala City

Abstract

To establish the prevalence and patterns of common eye diseases affecting adults in Busia village, Katanga zone, in Kampala city. The eye is one of the most vital sense organs responsible for the sense of vision. Diseases that affect the eye have potential to cause blindness and grossly affect the quality of life of eye disease patients. The prevalence of eye diseases has been increasing across the globe from 12.44 million in 1990 to 22.56 million in 2019. While the exact number is not known, it is estimated that 11.9 million people globally have moderate or severe vision impairment or blindness that could have been prevented. Unfortunately, there is scarcity of information regarding the burden of eye diseases in Kampala. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in Busia village among 248 adults aged 18 years and above who were selected by convenience non-probability sampling technique according to their availability. Study materials included Snellen visual acuity charts, pin hole occluders, trial lenses and trial frames, Random Dot stereo tests, HRR pseudoisochromatic colour vision book, pen torches and head loops. The data collected was processed and analyzed using SPSS version 20. A totalof 248 individuals were examined. Majority of the participants were youths aged 18-24 years (45.2%), were females and married (51%). Majority of the participants reported symptoms indicative of allergic conjunctivitis and many of them reported having hypertension although majority of the participants (52%) had never had an eye examination before. Of those whose visual acuity was taken, majority (52%) had visual acuity of worse than 6/9 in the right eye and there was an equal distribution between those who had 6/9 or better and those with worse than 6/9 in the left eye. Majority of the participants (93%) had no tropia at 0.5-meter and the prevalence of abnormal visual functioning was 14%. Common abnormal ocular findings included allergic eye disease and cataract. Other findings included pingueculae, pterygium, pseudophakia, and staphyloma. Logistic regression analysis showed a significant association between abnormal ocular findings and age (youths and older people above 50 years), urban residence, and chronic health conditions (diabetes mellitus and hypertension). Many of the residents had not had an eye examination as regular eye checkups was not done in over 50% of the participants. The frequency of abnormal eye findings were significant and follows the trend of eye diseases in slum areas; similar to national geographic distribution of eye diseases. Eye disorders including allergic conjunctivitis, cataract, pingueculae, pterygium were common. Abnormal visual functioning attributed to use of Traditional Eye Medicine and poorly managed ocular pathologies that could be prevented by regularly seeking professional eye care services. The study recommends residents to regularly seek professional eye care services, frequent medical camps need to be conducted to bring eye checkup services closer to the community and establishment of eye treatment centers in slum areas. The study was limited by inadequate measures of data collection that restricted diagnosis and the research participants not being exclusive to the target study location.