Published on: 4/7/2025
Visual impairment means having a lower level of vision than what is considered normal, even with the use of corrective measures like glasses.
Visual impairment is when someone has trouble seeing clearly, and this difficulty isn’t completely fixed by wearing glasses, contacts, or even with surgery. It covers a broad range of problems—from slightly blurry vision to significant loss of sight. When a person has visual impairment, everyday activities such as reading, driving, or recognizing faces might become hard. Researchers study visual impairment to understand how many people around the world have difficulties with their vision and what causes these problems. Conditions like cataracts, age-related macular degeneration, or uncorrected refractive error can all lead to visual impairment. The Global Burden of Disease Study, for example, tracks causes and trends in vision loss to help improve care and prevent avoidable blindness. Overall, visual impairment affects how well people function in daily life, and efforts to prevent and treat it are important for helping people maintain their independence and quality of life.
(References)
GBD 2019 Blindness and Vision Impairment Collaborators; Vision Loss Expert Group of the Global Burden of Disease Study. Causes of blindness and vision impairment in 2020 and trends over 30 years, and prevalence of avoidable blindness in relation to VISION 2020: the Right to Sight: an analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study. Lancet Glob Health. 2021 Feb;9(2):e144-e160. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30489-7. Epub 2020 Dec 1. Erratum in: Lancet Glob Health. 2021 Apr;9(4):e408. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(21)00050-4. PMID: 33275949; PMCID: PMC7820391.
Keel S, Cieza A. Rising to the challenge: estimates of the magnitude and causes of vision impairment and blindness. Lancet Glob Health. 2021 Feb;9(2):e100-e101. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(21)00008-5. PMID: 33482137; PMCID: PMC7816084.
Chung, Susana T. L.∗; Advances in vision impairment research. Optometry and Vision Science 101(6):p 287-289, June 2024. | DOI: 10.1097/OPX.0000000000002163
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