Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36963570›Full record

SynthesisOphthalmology2023

Global Trends in Blindness and Vision Impairment Resulting from Corneal Opacity 1984-2020: A Meta-analysis.

Erin Y Wang, Xiangrong Kong, Meraf Wolle, Nicolas Gasquet, Joseph Ssekasanvu, Silvio P Mariotti, Rupert Bourne, Hugh Taylor, Serge Resnikoff, Sheila West

Registry-linked trialOpen access · hybridAbstract readMeta-AnalysisReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Ophthalmology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07449000 (Topical Losartan as Treatment to Reduce Corneal Scarring Fibrosis), which is not on this map. Cited by 84 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
84citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
24.6field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT07449000 narecruitingnot on this mapstarted 2026, after this paper: background citation

Topical Losartan as Treatment to Reduce Corneal Scarring Fibrosis

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversidad Autonoma de Nuevo LeonRan2026 to 2027Enrolled46ConditionsCorneal Scarring FibrosisArmsTopical losartan, Placebo Control
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

84 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 108 citations in OpenAlex.

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24 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 5 institutions in 4 countries.

Erin Y WangDana Center for Preventive Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
Xiangrong KongDana Center for Preventive Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
Meraf WolleDana Center for Preventive Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
Nicolas GasquetJohns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.
Joseph SsekasanvuJohns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.
Silvio P MariottiDepartment of Non-communicable Diseases, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
Rupert BourneCambridge University Hospitals, and Vision and Eye Research Institute, School of Medicine, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Hugh TaylorIndigenous Eye Health Unit, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, Melbourne, Australia.
Serge ResnikoffSchool of Optometry and Vision Science, University of New South Wales, and Brien Holden Vision Institute, Sydney, Australia, and Organization pour la Prévention de la Cécité, Paris, France.
Sheila WestDana Center for Preventive Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland. Electronic address: shwest@jhmi.edu.
Johns Hopkins University · USBrien Holden Vision Institute · AUMelbourne Health · AUUniversity of Cambridge · GBWorld Health Organization · CH

Funding

World Health Organization 001
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

topicWe provide global estimates of the prevalence of corneal blindness and vision impairment in adults 40 years of age and older and examine the burden by age, sex, and geographic region from 1984 through 2020. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Corneal opacities (COs) are among the top 5 causes of blindness worldwide, yet the global prevalence, regional differences, and risk factors are unclear.

methodsAbstracted data from the published literature and surveys were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease Vision Loss Expert Group. We supplemented this by an independent systematic literature search of several databases. Studies that provided CO vision impairment data based on population-based surveys for those 40 years of age or older were included, for a total of 244. For each of the 4 outcomes of blindness and moderate to severe vision impairment (MSVI) caused by trachomatous and nontrachomatous CO (NTCO), time trends and differences in prevalence by region, age, and sex were evaluated using a Poisson log-linear model with a generalized estimating equation method. Age-standardized estimates of global prevalence of blindness and MSVI were calculated using the 2015 United Nations standard populations.

resultsThe global prevalence of blindness resulting from NTCO in those 40 years and older was 0.081% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.049%-0.315%); that of MSVI was 0.130% (95% CI, 0.087%-0.372%). A significant increase with age was found (prevalence rate ratio, 2.15; 95% CI, 1.99-2.32). Latin America and Europe showed the lowest rates, with 2- to 8-fold higher rates of blindness or MSVI in other regions. The global prevalence of blindness resulting from trachomatous CO in those 50 years and older was 0.0094% (95% CI, 0%-0.0693%); that from MSVI was 0.012% (95% CI, 0%-0.0761%). Blindness resulting from trachomatous CO and MSVI increased with age and female sex, and rates were significantly higher in the African regions. A decrease in trachomatous blindness rates over time was found (prevalence rate ratio, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.86-0.96). DISCUSSION: An estimated 5.5 million people worldwide are bilaterally blind or have MSVI resulting from CO, with an additional 6.2 million unilaterally blind. Blindness resulting from trachomatous CO is declining over time, likely because of the massive scaleup of the global trachoma elimination program and overall socioeconomic development. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE(S): The author(s) have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article.

Indexed as

Corneal OpacityPersons with Visual DisabilitiesTrachomaAdultBlindnessFemaleHumansPrevalenceVision DisordersBlindnessCorneal opacityGlobalTrachomaVision impairment

Identifiers

PMID36963570
PMCPMC10355344
OpenAlexW4353056592

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.