Ophthalmopatology as a cause of primary disability in the adults of Krasnoyarsk region: A 15-year (2007–2021) overview

BACKGROUND: Understanding the dynamics and regional features of primary disability formation is crucial for developing organizational and managerial measures to improve the provision of medical care and the system of rehabilitation measures to reduce the level of disability in the population.

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to assess the state and dynamics of primary disability due to ophthalmopathology in the adult population of the Krasnoyarsk Region from 2007 to 2021.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data sources include forms № 7-SOBES (Information on the medical and social examination of persons aged 18 years and older), statistical collections of the Federal State Budgetary Institution Medical and Social Expertise of the Ministry of Labor of Russia, and reporting documents of the Main Bureau of Medical and Social Expertise in Krasnoyarsk territory from 2007 to 2021. The comparative characteristics of the analyzed data were carried out for three periods: 2007–2011, 2012–2016, and 2017–2021.

RESULTS: For 2007–2021, 5,708 people were recognized as disabled for the first time due to the pathology of the eye. The dynamics of primary disability was characterized by unevenness. The values of the intensive indicator of primary disability ranged from 1.7 to 2.6 (mean 1.9) per 10,000 population aged 18 and above. Among those initially recognized as disabled, individuals at retirement age prevailed with an increased instance of 8.5% every subsequent five years. People with disabilities were mainly residents of the cities in the region. Compared with 2007–2011 and 2012–2016 in the last 5 years, the share of IDPs in groups I and II increased (27.1% [524/1,930] and 43.4% [837/1930]), while the proportion people with disabilities of group III decreased (29.5% [569/1930]). The leading cause of disability was glaucoma (32.0% [606/1,891], 30.1% [569/1,887], and 31.1% [599/1,930] in groups I, II, and III, respectively). Second place in the list is occupied by age-related macular degeneration (15.7% [298/1,891], 20.3% [383/1,887], and 27% [522/1,930] in groups I, II, and III, respectively), and the third is myopia (14.1% [268/1,891], 11.2% [211/1,887], and 11.9% [231/1,930] in groups I, II, and III, respectively).

CONCLUSION: The dynamics of primary disability due to eye pathology in the adult population of the Krasnoyarsk Territory in 2007–2021 are variable, partly associated with an increase in the number of people with disabilities of retirement age. There was an increase in disability groups during 2017–2021. Therefore, improving the efficiency of preventive medicine and providing the region with medical personnel can help reduce the level of primary disability in the region.