Causes of Blindness in Adults in Southern Turkey According to Health Committee Reports

OBJECTIVES: To reveal the causes of blindness in patients who applied to the medical board of a hospital serving the Southeastern Anatolian region of Turkey. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 340 bilaterally blind patients who were among 3,234 patients referred to our hospital’s medical board between March 2016 and November 2018 for disability evaluation and rating report. RESULTS: One-hundred sixty (48.8%) were female, 174 (51.2%) were male, and the mean patient age was 64.3±25.4 years. The most common cause of blindness was cataract in 158 eyes (23.2%), followed by corneal opacities in 114 eyes (16.8%), retinal dystrophy in 92 eyes (13.5%), optic atrophy in 73 eyes (10.7%), glaucoma in 65 eyes (9.6%), and phthisis bulbi in 59 eyes (8.7%). CONCLUSION: Avoidable causes of blindness such as cataract and corneal opacity (secondary to trachoma) were detected at high rates. Therefore, we believe that more awareness and effort might be required in our region to reduce avoidable blindness due to these causes.