Prevalence

The measures and the data

The section includes the measures and data on the prevalence and main causes of vision impairment and blindness, as well as data on the prevalence of trachoma and trichiasis.

Measures Data source Latest data Data included
1.1.1  Prevalence of vision impairment and blindness NEHS 2016 Time trend, Indigenous status, age, sex, region, state
1.1.2 Self reported eye or sight problems AATSIHS 2012–13 Time trend, Indigenous status, age, sex, region, jurisdictions
1.2.1 Main causes of vision impairment and blindness NEHS 2016 Indigenous status, age, sex,
1.2.2 Self reported eye or sight problems AATSIHS 2012–13 Indigenous status, sex
1.3.1  Prevalence of trachoma TSR 2016 Age, time trend, state
1.3.2  Prevalence of trichiasis TSR 2016 Age, time trend, state

Notes:

  1. NEHS—2016 National Eye Health Survey; AATSIHS—Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey; TSR—Trachoma Surveillance Report
  2. For more details about the measures and the data see Technical notes and data sources (295KB PDF).
  3. Data tables: Prevalence (548KB XLS)

Key points

  • In 2016, the estimated prevalence of bilateral vision impairment for Indigenous Australians over the age of 40 was 10.5% and the prevalence of bilateral blindness was 0.3%.
  • This was 3 times the rate of non-Indigenous Australians, based on age- standardised data.
  • The 3 leading causes of vision loss for Indigenous Australians aged 40 and over in 2016 were refractive error (63%), cataract (20%) and diabetic retinopathy (5.5%).
  • Trachoma is found in some remote Indigenous communities of Australia.
  • The prevalence of active trachoma among 5–9 year olds has decreased from 14% in 2009, but plateaued in recent years. In 2016 the prevalence rate was 4.7%.