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Alfred Sommer, MD

JAMA. 1986;255(24):3405-3406.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

Depending on definitions and how you count, an estimated 42 million people are blind. Over 80% reside in developing countries, where blindness rates are often five to 20 times those of wealthier industrialized nations.^1,2 The majority of Third World blindness is caused by cataract^3,4; the rest, depending upon local conditions, by trachoma,⁵ onchocerciasis (river blindness),⁶ malnutrition (xerophthalmia),^7,8 trauma, and glaucoma.^2,3 It is concentrated in the elderly, particularly women. Most importantly, it can be prevented or reversed with existing technology.

In a carefully conducted nationwide prevalence survey reported in this issue, Tabbara and Ross-Degnan⁹ document the magnitude and causes of blindness in Saudi Arabia, confirming findings of similar surveys in Nepal¹⁰ and Malawi¹¹ and more modest investigations elsewhere. These have revealed the unacceptable burden of this avoidable disability, with its economic and human costs, and enabled governments with severely limited resources to . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
The Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute The Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health Baltimore

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