• John Landers, Tim Henderson, and Jamie E Craig.
• Department of Ophthalmology, Flinders Medical Centre, Flinders Drive, Bedford Park, SA 5042, Australia. john.landers@bigpond.com
• Clin. Experiment. Ophthalmol. 2012 Sep 1; 40 (7): 657-61.

Background  To estimate the incidence and causes of visual impairment and blindness among indigenous Australians living in Central Australia.Design  Clinic-based cohort study.Participants  A total of 1884 individuals aged ≥20 years living in one of 30 remote communities within the statistical local area of 'Central Australia'.Methods  From those initially recruited, 608 (32%) participants were reviewed again between 6 months and 3 years (median 2 years). Patients underwent Snellen visual acuity testing and subjective refraction. Following this, an assessment of their anterior and posterior segments was made. Baseline results were compared with those who were reviewed.Main Outcome Measures  The annual incidence rates and causes of bilateral visual impairment (vision worse than Snellen visual acuity 6/12 in the better eye) and bilateral blindness (Snellen visual acuity worse than 6/60 in the better eye).Results  The annual incidence of bilateral visual impairment and blindness was 6.82% (8.12% for those aged ≥40 years) per year and 0.50% (0.62% for those aged ≥40 years) per year, respectively. Refractive error, followed by cataract and diabetic retinopathy, were the main causes for incident bilateral visual impairment and blindness.Conclusion  This study has demonstrated rates of incident bilateral blindness and visual impairment among the indigenous Australian population within Central Australia, which are substantially higher than those from the non-indigenous population. Services need to address the underlying causes of this incident vision loss to reduce visual morbidity in indigenous Australians living in central Australia.© 2012 The Authors. Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology © 2012 Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists.

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