Prevalence, Causes, and Risk Factors Associated with Visual Impairment in Qbah, a Rural Community in the Qassim Region of Saudi Arabia

Background: Visual impairment can significantly impact an individual’s performance, productivity, and overall quality of life. Objectives: The objective of this paper is to report the prevalence, causes, and risk factors associated with visual impairment in Qbah, a rural community in the Qassim Province of Saudi Arabia. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Qbah, a rural community, with 587 subjects aged 6 to 80 years. Data were collected as part of a major campaign by Qassim University, and each participant underwent a comprehensive eye examination. Finally, the visual impairment was classified based on the International Classification of Diseases 11th revision, 2018 (ICD-11). Results: The overall prevalence of presenting visual impairment was 159 (27.1%). This included mild visual impairment 84 (14.37%), moderate visual impairment 65 (11.7%), severe visual impairment, and blindness 5 (0.90%). The main causes of visual impairment were uncorrected refractive errors (UREs), at 132 (83.0%), followed by amblyopia, at 14 (8.8%), and cataract, at 9 (5.7%). The prevalence of hyperopia, myopia, and astigmatism was 134 (22.8%), 174 (29.6%), and 13 (2.2%), respectively. Regression analysis revealed that the odds for visual impairment were 2.71 times higher in the elderly compared to the young participants. Women have 2.234 times higher odds of visual impairment compared to men, while the odds of visual impairment were 14.83 times higher in the participants with the URE compared to the emmetropic participants. Almost two-thirds of participants (65.8%) reported never having had an eye examination before. Conclusions: Visual impairment was common in the community, especially among older people and females, and URE was the main cause of visual impairment, followed by amblyopia and cataract. Considerable subjects reported never having had an eye examination before; this highlights the challenges in accessing healthcare in rural areas. These findings emphasize the importance of improving healthcare accessibility in rural regions.