PUTRAJAYA: The results of the National Eye Survey III (NES III) conducted by the Ministry of Health (MOH) found that 160,000 Malaysians aged 50 and above suffer low vision, with eight per cent of them having blindness.
The NES III, conducted from July to October in the Eastern Zone involving Pahang, Kelantan and Terengganu as well as in Sarawak (Sarawak Zone), aims to study the prevalence of blindness and vision problems among Malaysians who are 50 and above.
Ophthalmologist (Public Health) Dr Mohamad Aziz Salowi, who is also a NES III researcher, said that based on NES III, the prevalence of blindness in the Eastern Zone and Sarawak Zone dropped significantly compared to NES II in 2014 in the same zones.
“In NES III, six out of 1,000 Sarawak residents experienced blindness compared to 16 out of 1,000 residents in 2014,” he told reporters after the NES III launching ceremony here today.
For the Eastern Zone, eight out of 1,000 residents experienced blindness in NES III compared to 14 out of 1,000 people in 2014.
Dr Mohamad Aziz said the main causes of blindness in both zones were cataract, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma.
Earlier, Deputy Health Minister Datuk Lukanisman Awang Sauni, in his opening speech, said that as of September this year, the number of cataract operations conducted in 49 specialist MOH hospitals was between 55,000 and 60,000 cases involving individuals aged 60 to 70 and above.
He said the MOH implemented the Health Ministry Cataract Clinic (KKMOH) in 2013 to systematically overcome the burden of cataract cases by creating Cataract Free Zones (projects) throughout the country.
KKMOH is MOH’s innovation to improve the services in dealing with problems of blindness, especially caused by cataracts and it provides access to eye examinations and treatment for the people, especially those living in rural areas.
Cataracts happen when your eye’s natural lens becomes cloudy and can be likened to a window that is partially covered with dirt. They occur as a result of the ageing process, eye injuries, certain diseases or taking certain types of drugs.-Bernama
