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Clinical science
Burden of near vision loss in China: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019
  1. Guangming Jin1,
  2. Minjie Zou1,
  3. Chi Liu2,
  4. Aiming Chen3,
  5. Yi Sun4,
  6. Charlotte Aimee Young5,
  7. Yi Li6,
  8. Danying Zheng1,
  9. Nathan Congdon1,7,
  10. Xiaotong Han1
  1. 1 State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat- sen University, Guangzhou, China
  2. 2 School of Computer Science, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  3. 3 Department of Pharmacy, Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai, China
  4. 4 Department of Ophthalmology, Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
  5. 5 Department of Ophthalmology, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
  6. 6 Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong
  7. 7 Centre for Public Health, Royal Victoria Hospital, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Xiaotong Han, State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China; lh.201205{at}aliyun.com; Dr Nathan Congdon, State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat- Sen University, Guangzhou, China; Centre for Public Health, Royal Victoria Hospital, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK; ncongdon1{at}gmail.com; Dr Danying Zheng, State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China; zhengdyy{at}163.com

Abstract

Purpose To investigate the burden of near vision loss (NVL) in China by year, age and gender from 1990 to 2019.

Methods We used estimates from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019 study to report the prevalence and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) due to NVL in China. Estimates of crude counts and age-standardised rates per 100 000 population are accompanied by 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs). We summarised the age-specific and sex-specific patterns and trends regarding the burden of NVL in China, compared with seven neighbouring countries.

Results From 1990 to 2019, the all-age number and rate for NVL prevalence and DALYs increased significantly in China (all p<0.001). The age-standardised rate decreased from 7538.1 (95% UI 6946.3 to 8075.1) to 7392.9 (95% UI 6855.8 to 7890.5) per 100 000 population for NVL prevalence (p=0.107), and from 74.9 (95% UI 69.6 to 79.9) to 73.8 (95% UI 70.6 to 80.1) per 100 000 population for DALYs (p=0.388). Women had higher NVL prevalence (t=170.1, p<0.001) and DALYs (t=192.5, p<0.001) than men. Higher disease burden of NVL was observed in the middle-aged and elderly population. The age-standardised prevalence and DALY rate attributable to NVL in China were lower than in India, North Korea, Pakistan (all p<0.001), but higher than Russia, South Korea, Singapore and Japan (all p<0.001).

Conclusions Despite a small decrease in age-standardised prevalence and DALYs due to NVL in China in the past two decades, the existing burden is still considerable and significantly higher compared with neighbouring developed countries. An approach that includes all stakeholders is needed to further reduce this burden.

  • epidemiology
  • vision

Data availability statement

Data are available upon reasonable request. Data are available on reasonable request.

https://doi.org/10.1136/bjophthalmol-2021-319603

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    Data availability statement

    Data are available upon reasonable request. Data are available on reasonable request.

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    Footnotes

    • GJ, MZ and CL are joint first authors.

    • Contributors Conception and design: DZ, NC, XH. Analysis and interpretation: GJ, MZ, CL, AC, YL. Writing of the article: GJ, MZ, CL. Critical revision of the article: DZ, NC, XH. Data collection: GJ, MZ, CL. Administrative, technical or logistical support: DZ, NC, XH. Guarantor: DZ, NC, XH.

    • Funding This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (81873673 and 81900841). XH receives support from the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2019TQ0365). GJ receives support from the Young Teachers Training Program of Sun Yat-sen University (20ykpy143). Professor Congdon is supported by the Ulverscroft Foundation (UK).

    • Competing interests NC declares that he is the Director of Research for Orbis International, a non-governmental organisation working in global eye health.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

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