Despite current successes of ophthalmology, during the last decades, blindness and low vision affect the population of both developed and developing countries. In United States, the prevalence of blindness in 1940 was 17.5 per 10 thousand in 1960-1979, this figure reached 20.0, and nowadays - 50.0 per 10 thousand. population. According to the World Health Organization data of 2014, the World has 285 million blind and visually impaired people, 90% of visually impaired live in developing countries. The main causes of blindness in underdeveloped and developing countries are cataract, trachoma, onchocerciasis, xerophthalmia. In highly developed countries, the causes are different - glaucoma, degenerative myopia, cataract, chorioretinal degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, congenital eye diseases. In the Russian Federation, the prevalence of blindness and low vision, as well as the structure of nosologies leading to these conditions are similar to those in developed countries. The prevalence of blindness and low vision in Russia, according to E.S. Liebman, for the 1985-2002 increased from 13.6 to 17.0 per 10 thousand, and the prevalence of blindness - from 7.0 to 7.8 per 10 thousand. The maximum rates observed in the Central and Volga economic regions (25.6 and 20.3), in the Udmurt Republic (39.6), Lipetsk (41.1) and Yaroslavl (34.3) regions (per 10 thousand). The World Health Organization has developed a long-term plan of action for the prevention of eye diseases in the global initiative «Vision 2020: the Right to Sight». A good progress has been made, particularly in combating infectious causes of blindness by supporting the Member States and attracting long-term resources. Thus, an active work is ongoing to reduce the disability due to eye diseases worldwide. Up to 80% of cases of blindness can be avoided with early diagnosis and treatment of patients.
Modern aspects of disability due to eye diseases
