Vulnerable newborn types: analysis of subnational, population-based birth cohorts for 541 285 live births in 23 countries, 2000-2021.

Objective: To examine prevalence of novel newborn types among 541 285 live births in 23 countries from 2000 to 2021.

Design: Descriptive multi-country secondary data analysis.

Setting: Subnational, population-based birth cohort studies (n = 45) in 23 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) spanning 2000-2021.

Uptake pattern of training programs over two decades at an International Ophthalmic Training Institute in India.

Purpose: Inadequacy of trained human resources is a critical challenge for eye-care delivery worldwide. Recognizing this, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for Prevention of Blindness had identified the development of human resources as one of the focal areas in the global initiative "Vision 2020: The Right to Sight." The global action plan of the WHO also emphasized the need for trained workforce for ensuring comprehensive eye-care services.

Making the decision to donate eyes: Perspectives from the families of the deceased in Madurai, India.

Purpose: To identify factors affecting family members' decision whether to donate eye organs.

Methods: A community-based case-control study based on in-home interviews with families of deceased individuals who had or had not donated eye organs, in Madurai district, Tamil Nadu, India. Data collected were knowledge and awareness of eye donations, whether the deceased individual had expressed or pledged willingness to donate, and family members' attitudes and willingness to donate their own eye organs.

Influence of Distance and Near Visual Impairment on Self-Reported Near Visual Functioning in a Multinational Study.

Purpose: To assess the influence of distance and near visual impairment on self-reported near visual functioning (VF) in a multinational study.

Design: Population-based cross-sectional study.

Participants: Participants aged 35 years or older were selected randomly with cluster sampling at 7 sites: rural sites in Nepal (Kaski) and India (Madurai), a semirural site in China (Shunyi), semiurban sites in South Africa (Durban) and Niger (Dosso), and urban sites in the United States (Los Angeles) and China (Guangzhou).

A Sustainable Model For Delivering High-Quality, Efficient Cataract Surgery In Southern India.

Cataracts are a leading cause of reversible blindness in India, where millions of people can be effectively treated for this condition with surgery. The Aravind Eye Care System in southern India developed an efficient system for delivering high-quality and low-cost cataract surgery. We provide a detailed accounting of costs of cataract surgery at the system and a cost-utility analysis.

Vision screening by teachers in southern Indian schools: testing a new "all class teacher" model.

Aim: To study the effectiveness and cost of a new school vision screening program involving all class teachers (ACTs) compared with the standard program involving a limited number of selected teachers (STs) in Southern India.

Methods: A total of 12 schools were selected for intervention and 12 schools were matched as controls, from in and around Pondicherry, India. Teachers in both the intervention arm (ACTs) and the standard arm (STs) were trained to identify students between the ages of 6 and 17 years with visual acuity ≤20/30 in either eye or obvious ocular abnormalities and refer them to an ophthalmic team.

Vision 2020: moving beyond blindness.

Most industrialized countries and many emerging economies have chosen to define 'blindness' at a visual acuity above that which WHO uses. This reflects the increasing visual demands of modern society for tasks such as driving or using cell phones. Meeting these demands will require more highly skilled health workers using more sophisticated equipment than has generally been considered sufficient for primary eye care.

Age-related prevalence and met need for correctable and uncorrectable near vision impairment in a multi-country study.

Purpose: To estimate the prevalence, potential determinants, and proportion of met need for near vision impairment (NVI) correctable with refraction approximately 2 years after initial examination of a multi-country cohort.

Design: Population-based, prospective cohort study.

Participants: People aged ≥35 years examined at baseline in semi-rural (Shunyi) and urban (Guangzhou) sites in China; rural sites in Nepal (Kaski), India (Madurai), and Niger (Dosso); a semi-urban site (Durban) in South Africa; and an urban site (Los Angeles) in the United States.

Pneumococcal carriage at age 2 months is associated with growth deficits at age 6 months among infants in South India.

Nasopharyngeal colonization is the first step in the pathway to Streptococcus pneumoniae (Spn) infection, a leading cause of childhood morbidity and mortality. We investigated the effect of Spn colonization at ages 2 and 4 mo on growth at age 6 mo among 389 infants living in rural South India by using data from an Spn carriage study nested within a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled community trial designed to evaluate the impact of newborn vitamin A supplementation on Spn carriage in the first 6 mo of life. Primary outcomes were weight, length, and anthropometric indices of nutritional status.

Prevalence and correction of near vision impairment at seven sites in China, India, Nepal, Niger, South Africa, and the United States.

Purpose: To estimate the prevalence of near vision impairment and use of corrective spectacles among middle-aged and older adults in different settings and ethnic groups.

Design: Population-based, cross-sectional study.

Methods: People aged ≥ 35 years were randomly selected with cluster sampling in 4 rural settings in Shunyi (China), Kaski (Nepal), Madurai (India), and Dosso (Niger); 1 semi-urban area in Durban (South Africa); and 2 urban settings in Guangzhou (China) and Los Angeles (USA).

The utility of relative afferent pupillary defect as a screening tool for glaucoma: prospective examination of a large population-based study in a south Indian population.

Background: Previous authors have suggested that an afferent pupillary defect (APD) may serve as an effective screening tool for some specific eye diseases, especially glaucomatous optic neuropathy, since the disease usually presents asymmetrically. Its success as a screening tool for glaucoma has never been previously prospectively evaluated in a large population.

Methods: In this study, the authors carry out assessments for the presence of APD as it relates to the diagnosis of glaucoma in an existing population-based eye study in southern India.

Breast-feeding initiation time and neonatal mortality risk among newborns in South India.

Objective: To examine the association between breast-feeding initiation time and neonatal mortality in India, where breast-feeding initiation varies widely from region to region.

Study Design: Data were collected as part of a community-based, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of the impact of vitamin A supplementation in rural villages of Tamil Nadu, India. Multivariate binomial regression analysis was used to estimate the association between neonatal mortality and breast-feeding initiation time (<12 h, 12 to 24 h, >24 h) among infants surviving a minimum of 48 h.

Population-based prevalence of uveitis in Southern India.

Purpose: To estimate the prevalence of uveitis in rural Tamil Nadu, India.

Methods: Cluster sampling identified a population-based sample of 5150 persons ages 40 years and older, representative of three districts in Tamil Nadu, India. Each received a comprehensive dilated ocular examination by an ophthalmologist, and results were registered on forms requiring responses about the presence of ocular inflammatory signs and inflammatory diagnoses.

Eliminating cataract blindness - how do we apply lessons from Asia to sub-Saharan Africa?

The VISION 2020 initiative aims to eliminate avoidable blindness by the year 2020. Cataract, the main cause of blindness and other visual impairment, is a main focus of this effort. In India, the Aravind Eye Care System provides an impressive model demonstrating how high quality eye care, including cataract surgery, can be delivered to large numbers and made affordable to all.

Prevalence and risk factors for diabetic retinopathy: a population-based assessment from Theni District, south India.

Aims: To estimate the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) and the possible risk factors associated with DR, in a population of south India.

Methods: A cross-sectional sample of subjects aged 30 years and older was selected using a cluster sampling technique from Theni district of Tamilnadu state. Eligible subjects were identified through a door-to-door survey and fasting blood glucose estimation.

Exposure to indoor biomass fuel and tobacco smoke and risk of adverse reproductive outcomes, mortality, respiratory morbidity and growth among newborn infants in south India.

Background: Exposure to indoor air pollution due to open burning of biomass fuel is common in low- and middle-income countries. Previous studies linked this exposure to an increased risk of respiratory illness, low birth weight (LBW) and other disorders. We assessed the association between exposure to biomass fuel sources and second-hand tobacco smoke (SHTS) in the home and adverse health outcomes in early infancy in a population in rural south India.

Prevalence of early and late age-related macular degeneration in India: the INDEYE study.

Purpose: To estimate the prevalence of early and late age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in India.

Methods: Of 7518 people aged 60 years and older identified from randomly sampled villages in North and South India, 5853 (78%) attended an eye examination including fundus photography. Fundus images were graded according to the Wisconsin Age-Related Maculopathy Grading System.

Risk factors for maternal night blindness in rural South India.

Purpose: This study aimed to identify risk factors associated with maternal night blindness in rural South India.

Methods: At delivery, women enrolled in a population-based trial of newborn vitamin A supplementation were asked whether they were night blind at any time during the pregnancy. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify socioeconomic, demographic, and pregnancy-related factors associated with maternal night blindness.

Prevalence and risk factors for diabetic retinopathy: a population-based assessment from Theni District, south India.

Aims: To estimate the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) and the possible risk factors associated with DR, in a population of south India.

Methods: A cross-sectional sample of subjects aged 30 years and older was selected using a cluster sampling technique from Theni district of Tamilnadu state. Eligible subjects were identified through a door-to-door survey and fasting blood glucose estimation.