Table 1.
Relative incidence rates of visual impairment, severe visual impairment, or blindness by sociodemographic characteristics
| All cases (n=784) | Total UK population (1000s) | Annual incidence (95% CI)* | Relative rate (95% CI) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnic group† | |||||
| White | 437 (63%) | 12289·3 | 0·4 (0·3–0·4) | 1 (ref) | |
| South Asian‡ | 162 (24%) | 999·3 | 1·6 (1·4–1·9) | 4·6 (3·8–5·5) | |
| Pakistani | 86 (12%) | 462·6 | 1·9 (1·5–2·3) | 5·2 (4·2–6·6) | |
| Indian or Bangladeshi | 50 (7%) | 536·7 | 0·9 (0·7–1·2) | 2·6 (2·0–3·5) | |
| Black | 32 (5%) | 636·6 | 0·5 (0·4–0·7) | 1·4 (1·0–2·0) | |
| Mixed | 36 (5%) | 668·6 | 0·5 (0·4–0·7) | 1·5 (1·0–2·1) | |
| Other | 22 (3%) | 171·2 | 1·3 (0·8–2·0) | 3·6 (2·4–5·6) | |
| Sex§ | |||||
| Female | 356 (45%) | 7143·7 | 0·5 (0·5–0·6) | 1 (ref) | |
| Male | 427 (55%) | 7508·5 | 0·6 (0·5–0·6) | 1·1 (1·0–1·3) | |
| Deprivation (IMD) quintile¶ | |||||
| Quintile 1 (least deprived) | 112 (15%) | 2930·4 | 0·4 (0·3–0·5) | 1 (ref) | |
| Quintile 2 | 110 (14%) | 2930·4 | 0·4 (0·3–0·5) | 1·0 (0·8–1·3) | |
| Quintile 3 | 112 (15%) | 2930·4 | 0·4 (0·3–0·5) | 1·0 (0·8–1·2) | |
| Quintile 4 | 174 (23%) | 2930·4 | 0·6 (0·5–0·7) | 1·6 (1·3–1·9) | |
| Quintile 5 (most deprived) | 264 (34%) | 2930·4 | 0·9 (0·8–1·0) | 2·4 (2·0–2·8) | |
| Country of residence‖ | |||||
| England** | 712 (91%) | 12434·2 | 0·6 (0·53–0·62) | .. | |
| Scotland | 33 (4%) | 665·2 | 0·3 (0·21–0·42) | .. | |
| Wales | 31 (4%) | 1092·7 | 0·5 (0·33–0·66) | .. | |
| Northern Ireland | 8 (1%) | 460·1 | 0·2 (0·09–0·35) | .. | |
| Birthweight, g††‡‡ | |||||
| ≥2500 (normal) | 267 (69%) | 686·3 | 3·9 (3·4–4·4) | 1 (ref) | |
| 1500–2499 (low birthweight) | 71 (18%) | 44·61 | 15·9 (12·6–21·1) | 4·1 (3·1-5·4) | |
| <1500 (very low birthweight) | 49 (13%) | 7·52 | 65·2 (49·2–86·2) | 16·8 (12·4–22·8) | |
| Gestational age at birth††§§ | |||||
| Normal (≥37 weeks) | 383 (72%) | 688·65 | 5·3 (5·0–6·1) | 1 (ref) | |
| Moderate to late preterm (32–36 weeks) | 88 (17%) | 48·29 | 18·2 (14·8–22·5) | 3·3 (2·6–4·1) | |
| Very preterm (28–31 weeks) | 33 (6%) | 5·92 | 55·7 (39·6–78·4) | 10·0 (7·0–14·3) | |
| Extreme preterm (<28 weeks) | 27 (5%) | 3·33 | 81·1 (55·6–118·2) | 14·6 (9·9–21·6) | |
Data are n (%) unless otherwise indicated. IMD=Index of Multiple Deprivation.
*
Values are yearly incidence per 10 000 children aged 0–18 years, except for birthweight and preterm, which is yearly incidence per 10 000 livebirths.
†
n=689.
‡
Includes 15 south Asian children of Asian other ethnicity.
§
n=783.
¶
n=772.
‖
n=784.
**
Including one child from Guernsey and one child from the Isle of Man.
††
Birthweight and preterm birth excludes cases from Northern Ireland as the denominator is unknown; values are yearly incidence per 10 000 children <1 year old.
‡‡
n=387.
§§
n=531.