Visual Impairment in Kurdistan and Trend of Epidemiologic Eye Studies in Iran

It Research contains an article describing a Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB) study conducted in Kurdistan in 2014.[1] During the last two decades, a few comprehensive eye studies and three RAAB studies have been performed in Iran.[2‑4] These valuable attempts are quite outstanding compared to the situation of Iran’s eye health information in the past and also serve as an exemplar for the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) and other regions. Although the three RAAB studies have been conducted in different provinces influenced by regional specific factors including ethnicity, socioeconomic status and access to eye care services, they all show a high proportion of avoidable blindness. This consistent evidence underlines the necessity of subnational and national strategies towards the prevention of blindness. Another achievement of the current RAAB study is that it has been conducted on a minority ethnic group in Iran and is the first population‑based eye health study carried out on this group. The study reveals that 13.4% of the over 50 years population in this province suffer from visual impairment and the majority of causes are avoidable.Another achievement of the current RAAB study is that it has been conducted on a minority ethnic group in Iran and is the first population‑based eye health study carried out on this group. The study reveals that 13.4% of the over 50 years population in this province suffer from visual impairment and the majority of causes are avoidable.