Undiagnosed eye conditions

Measure 2.5:  The number of Indigenous Australians with vision impairment or blindness attributed to 1 of the 5 main causes (refractive error, cataract, diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma) who had not had their condition diagnosed, as a proportion of those with vision impairment or blindness attributed to 1 of the 5 main causes.

There are 2 separate charts for this measure showing diagnosis rates for the top 3 eye diseases and for refractive error for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

Eye conditions, Indigenous Australians, by whether diagnosed, 2016

This stacked vertical bar chart compares the number of Indigenous Australians participating in the National Eye Health Survey in 2016 who had diagnosed and undiagnosed eye conditions. The chart shows that:

  • 55% of Indigenous participants tested had undiagnosed refractive error
  • 69% of Indigenous participants tested had undiagnosed cataract
  • 36% of Indigenous participants tested had undiagnosed diabetic retinopathy.

Eye conditions, non-Indigenous Australians, by whether diagnosed, 2016

This stacked vertical bar chart compares the number of non-Indigenous Australians participating in the National Eye Health Survey in 2016 who had diagnosed and undiagnosed eye conditions. The chart shows that:

  • 64% of non-Indigenous participants tested had undiagnosed refractive error
  • 36% of non-Indigenous participants tested had undiagnosed cataract.
  • In 2016, around 57% of Indigenous participants in the 2016 NEHS had vision impairment or blindness attributed to 1 of 5 main causes (refractive error, cataract, diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma), and had not previously had their condition diagnosed.
  • The rates varied by condition, with the highest rate being for undiagnosed cataract:
    • 64 of 116 (55%) Indigenous participants tested had undiagnosed refractive error
    • 27 of 39 (69%) Indigenous participants tested had undiagnosed cataract
    • 4 of 11 (36%) Indigenous participants tested had undiagnosed diabetic retinopathy.
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