Introduction:

Low vision and blindness have high global prevalence, with categories of disability common in Colombia. Studies that characterize the etiology of permanent visual impairments are required.

Objective:

To identify and characterize the different causes of low vision and blindness in seven reference centers for the visually impaired population in Colombia, attended between 2012 and 2017 in six capital cities.

Materials and methods:

retrospective, case series, descriptive and multicenter study.

Results:

A sample of 879 records of visually impaired patients was available. Low vision is more prevalent for all age groups. 70% (612/879) low vision and 30% (267/879) blindness. The most common etiology in patients with low vision was age-related macular degeneration (DMAE) (24%, 144/612); in patients with blindness it was glaucoma (17%, 45/267).

Discussion:

Possibly in Colombia the causes of low vision and blindness go beyond cataracts, un corrected refractive errors and infectious blindness.

Conclusions:

The most common etiologies found are chronic and diverse eye conditions, which require specific interventions to decrease their prevalence and prevent cases of low vision and blindness.

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