Impact of Uncorrected Presbyopia on the Quality of Life in Rural Gwagwalada, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Few population based surveys have been done to assess the magnitude of presbyopia in developing countries and even fewer studies have found an impact on vision related quality of life in the developing world. The aim of this study is to determine the Impact of Presbyopia amongadults aged 40 years and above in Rural Gwagwalada, Abuja, Nigeria.
Methodology: The study was an analytical cross sectional study design.Participants underwent distance and near visual acuity testing including refractionto determine if they had presbyopia. A pretested interviewer administered near vision questionnaire was used to determine the self reported difficulty with near vision related tasks in rural Abuja, Nigeria.
Results: Presbyopes were more likely than non-Presbyopes to require help from others due to poor vision, to report having problems with family due to poor vision and to report not being satisfied with general health. (P<0.001). Presbyopes were more likely than nonpresbyopes to report moderate to severe difficulty with near vision tasks. (P < 0.001). Presbyopes reported three times the rates of dependency due to vision compared with non-presbyopes.Female presbyopes compared to males presbyopes were more likely to report having problems with family (30.7% vs. 8.3%, P <0.001).Females were also more likely to report having felt looked down upon (40.0% vs. 17.4%, P <0.001),
Conclusion: This study shows that uncorrected presbyopia substantially impacts on vision related quality of life in Rural Gwagwaladaand efforts should be made towards provision of good quality, affordable and readily accessible spectacles to rural settings in Nigeria.