Childhood blindness in India: a population based perspective.

AIM To estimate the prevalence and causes of blindness in children in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. METHODS These data were obtained as part of two population based studies in which 6935 children <or=15 years of age participated. Blindness was defined as presenting distance visual acuity <6/60 in the better eye. RESULTS The prevalence of childhood blindness was 0.17% (95% confidence interval 0.09 to 0.30). Treatable refractive error caused 33.3% of the blindness, followed by 16.6% due to preventable causes (8.3% each due to vitamin A deficiency and amblyopia after cataract surgery). The major causes of the remaining blindness included congenital eye anomalies (16.7%) and retinal degeneration (16.7%). CONCLUSION In the context of Vision 2020, the priorities for action to reduce childhood blindness in India are refractive error, cataract related amblyopia, and corneal diseases.