Background/aims The 1986 Gambia National Eye Health Survey provided baseline data for a National Eye Health Programme. A second survey in 1996 evaluated changes in population eye health a decade later. We completed a third survey in 2019, to determine the current state of population eye health, considering service developments and demographic change. Methods We estimated prevalence and causes of vision impairment (VI) in a nationally representative population-based sample of adults 35 years and older. We used multistage cluster random sampling to sample 10 800 adults 35 and above in 360 clusters of 30. We measured monocular distance visual acuity (uncorrected and with available correction) using Peek Acuity. Participants with either eye uncorrected or presenting (with available correction) acuity <6/12 were retested with pinhole and refraction, and dilated exams were completed on all eyes by ophthalmologists using a direct ophthalmoscope, slit lamp and 90 D lens. Results We examined 9188 participants (response rate 83%). The 2013 census age–sex adjusted prevalence of blindness (presenting acuity<3/60 in better seeing eye) was 1.2% (95% CI 0.9 to 1.4) and of moderate or severe VI (MSVI,<6/18 to ≥3/60) was 8.9% (95% CI 9.1 to 9.7). Prevalence of all distance VI (<6/12) was 13.4% (12.4–14.4). Compared with 1996, the relative risk of blindness decreased (risk ratio 0.7, 95% CI 0.5 to 1.0) and MSVI increased (risk ratio 1.5, 95% CI 1.2 to 0.17). Conclusion Significant progress has been made to reduce blindness and increase access to eye health across the Gambia, with further work is needed to decrease the risk of MSVI. Data are available upon reasonable request. Data analyses are ongoing. The anonymised dataset can be made available on reasonable request from the study team.

中文翻译：

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冈比亚三十年来眼健康规划中失明和远视力障碍的患病率

背景/目标 1986 年冈比亚国家眼健康调查为国家眼健康计划提供了基线数据。1996 年的第二次调查评估了十年后人口眼睛健康的变化。我们于 2019 年完成了第三次调查，旨在考虑服务发展和人口变化，确定当前人口眼睛健康状况。方法 我们在全国具有代表性的 35 岁及以上成年人样本中估计了视力障碍 (VI) 的患病率和原因。我们采用多阶段整群随机抽样方法，对 10 800 名 35 岁及以上成年人进行抽样，分为 360 组，每组 30 人。我们使用 Peek Acuity 测量单眼远视力（未矫正和可矫正）。眼睛未矫正或视力（可用矫正）<6/12 的参与者使用针孔和屈光进行重新测试，眼科医生使用直接检眼镜、裂隙灯和 90 D 镜片对所有眼睛进行散瞳检查。结果 我们检查了 9188 名参与者（回应率为 83%）。2013 年人口普查年龄-性别调整后的失明患病率（视力较好的眼睛视力<3/60）为 1.2%（95% CI 0.9 至 1.4），中度或重度 VI 患病率（MSVI，<6/18 至 ≥3/ 60）为 8.9%（95% CI 9.1 至 9.7）。所有距离 VI (<6/12) 的患病率为 13.4% (12.4–14.4)。与1996年相比，失明的相对风险下降（风险比0.7，95% CI 0.5至1.0），MSVI增加（风险比1.5，95% CI 1.2至0.17）。结论 冈比亚在减少失明和增加眼保健机会方面已经取得了重大进展，但需要进一步开展工作来降低 MSVI 风险。数据可根据合理要求提供。数据分析正在进行中。匿名数据集可以根据研究团队的合理要求提供。