Publications by authors named "Justine H Zhang"

Objectives: In pursuit of health equity, the World Health Organization has recently called for more extensive monitoring of inequalities in eye health. Population-based eye health surveys can provide this information, but whether underserved groups are considered in the design, implementation, and reporting of surveys is unknown. We conducted a systematic methodological review of surveys published since 2000 to examine how many population-based eye health surveys have considered underserved groups in their design, implementation, or reporting.

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Objectives: To systematically investigate the associations between vision impairment and risk of motor vehicle crash (MVC) involvement, and evaluate vision-related interventions to reduce MVCs.

Design: Medline (Ovid), EMBASE and Global Health electronic databases were systematically searched from inception to March 2022 for observational and interventional English-language studies. Screening, data extraction and appraisals using the Joanna Briggs Institute appraisal tools were completed by two reviewers independently.

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Article Synopsis
  • * A scoping review revealed 183 reports from 153 studies, mostly from high-income countries, indicating that DSI prevalence increases with age and is linked to poorer psychosocial, participation, and physical health outcomes compared to individuals with one or no impairments.
  • * The review highlights significant knowledge gaps around DSI, particularly in lower-income countries, and stresses the need for standardized definitions and reporting to improve understanding and services.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) is developing a Package of Eye Care Interventions (PECI) to facilitate the integration of eye care into Universal Health Coverage. This paper presents the results of a systematic review of clinical practice guidelines for cataract in adults, to help inform PECI development. We searched academic and guideline databases, and websites of professional associations, for guidelines published between January 2010 and April 2020.

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Vision impairment (VI) can have wide ranging economic impact on individuals, households, and health systems. The aim of this systematic review was to describe and summarise the costs associated with VI and its major causes. We searched MEDLINE (16 November 2019), National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database, the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects and the Health Technology Assessment database (12 December 2019) for partial or full economic evaluation studies, published between 1 January 2000 and the search dates, reporting cost data for participants with VI due to an unspecified cause or one of the seven leading causes globally: cataract, uncorrected refractive error, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, corneal opacity, trachoma.

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Article Synopsis
  • UN member states aim to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, and this Review explores how improving eye health can help meet these goals beyond just health-related targets.* -
  • The analysis identified 29 studies demonstrating that eye health services, like cataract surgery and community eye health initiatives, positively impact various SDGs related to poverty, education, equality, and sustainable cities.* -
  • The Review suggests that while eye health services have clear direct benefits for some SDGs, they may also indirectly influence others, and there are potential connections to additional SDGs that need further investigation.*
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Background: Cataract is a leading cause of blindness and vision impairment globally. Cataract surgery is one of the most frequently performed operations worldwide, but good quality services are not universally available. This scoping review aims to summarise the nature and extent of published literature on interventions to improve the quality of services for age-related cataract globally.

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Background: In the absence of accessible, good quality eye health services and inclusive environments, vision loss can impact individuals, households and communities in many ways, including through increased poverty, reduced quality of life and reduced employment. We aimed to estimate the annual potential productivity losses associated with reduced employment due to blindness and moderate and severe vision impairment (MSVI) at a regional and global level.

Methods: We constructed a model using the most recent economic, demographic (2018) and prevalence (2020) data.

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Purpose: To assess the diversity of leadership bodies of member organisations of the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) and the World Council of Optometry (WCO) in terms of: (1) the proportion who are women in all world regions, and (2) the proportion who are ethnic minority women and men in Eurocentric high-income regions.

Methods: We undertook a cross-sectional study of board members and chairs of ICO and WCO member organisations using a desk-based assessment of member organisation websites during February and March 2020. Gender and ethnicity of board members and chairs were collected using a combination of validated algorithmic software and manual assessment, based on names and photographs where available.

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Background: The number of individuals with vision impairment worldwide is increasing because of an ageing population. We aimed to systematically identify studies describing the association between vision impairment and mortality, and to assess the association between vision impairment and all-cause mortality.

Methods: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase, and Global Health database on Feb 1, 2020, for studies published in English between database inception and Feb 1, 2020.

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Introduction: Driving is one of the main modes of transport with safe driving requiring a combination of visual, cognitive and physical skills. With population ageing, the number of people living with vision impairment is set to increase in the decades ahead. Vision impairment may negatively impact an individual's ability to safely drive.

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Introduction: Vision impairment (VI) places a burden on individuals, health systems and society in general. In order to support the case for investing in eye health services, an updated cost of illness study that measures the global impact of VI is necessary. To perform such a study, a systematic review of the literature is needed.

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Introduction: Universal health coverage (UHC) includes the dimensions of equity in access, quality services that improve health and protection against financial hardship. Cataract continues to be the leading cause of blindness globally, despite cataract surgery being an efficacious intervention. The aim of this scoping review is to map the nature, extent and global distribution of data on cataract services for UHC in terms of equity, access, quality and financial protection.

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Introduction: Due to growth and ageing of the world's population, the number of individuals worldwide with vision impairment (VI) and blindness is projected to increase rapidly over the coming decades. VI and blindness are an important cause of years lived with disability. However, the association of VI and blindness with mortality, including the risk of bias in published studies and certainty of the evidence, has not been adequately studied in an up-to-date systematic review and meta-analysis.

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Introduction: In 2015, most governments of the world committed to achieving 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) by the year 2030. Efforts to improve eye health contribute to the advancement of several SDGs, including those not exclusively health-related. This scoping review will summarise the nature and extent of the published literature that demonstrates a link between improved eye health and advancement of the SDGs.

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Retinal inflammation plays a key role in the progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a condition that leads to loss of central vision. The deposition of the acute phase pentraxin C-reactive protein (CRP) in the macula activates the complement system, thereby contributing to dysregulated inflammation. The complement protein factor H (FH) can bind CRP and down-regulate an inflammatory response.

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Objectives: Chronic diarrhea caused by primary bile acid diarrhea (PBAD) is a common condition. We have previously shown PBAD is associated with low fasting serum levels of the ileal hormone, fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF19). FGF19 is a negative regulator of hepatic bile acid synthesis and is stimulated by farnesoid X receptor agonists, which produce symptomatic improvement in PBAD.

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Fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF19) is proposed to be a negative feedback regulator of hepatic bile acid (BA) synthesis. We aimed to clarify the distribution of FGF19 expression in human intestine and to investigate induction in a novel explant system. Ileal and colonic mucosal biopsies were obtained at endoscopy and analyzed for FGF19 transcript expression.

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