Families
Causes of vision impairment can include:
- Genetic conditions
- Maternal infections experienced during pregnancy (e.g., rubella, cytomegalovirus, venereal diseases, toxoplasmosis)
- Consequences of disease (e.g., diabetes, glaucoma, trachoma)
- Complications associated with extreme prematurity
- Birth complications
- Trauma, poisoning, and tumours
- Diabetic retinopathy
- Ageing and age-related conditions such as macular degeneration, cataracts and optic nerve atrophy
Worldwide
Among the major causes of vision impairment worldwide are cataract, trachoma, Vitamin A deficiency and river blindness. Many of these are found in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
