Refractive Error and School Eye Health

Uncorrected refractive error is the largest cause of global vision loss in 2020; 161 million people have distance vision impairment or blindness and 570 million people suffer from near vision impairment. Cataract (100 million people), age-related macular degeneration (8.1 million people), glaucoma (7.8 million people), and diabetic retinopathy (4.4 million people) are other leading causes of vision loss (Fig. 10.1). Uncorrected refractive error in South-East Asia (adjusted from the relevant Global Burden of Disease-defined regions to the World Health Organization (WHO)-defined South-East Asia Region, SEAR) accounted for 46.1% (95% CI: 42.19–49.51) of moderate to severe vision impairment (MSVI) and 12.6% (95% CI: 10.79–14.33%) of blindness [1]. Given that these data are for adults aged 50 years and above, the relative burden of vision impairment due to uncorrected refractive error is likely to be higher when data on younger adults and children are added.