Registered blindness in Kuwait - 15 years of dynamic changes.

PURPOSE: Incidence rate of registered blindness and low vision (IR) among the Kuwaitis from 2005 to 2014 and longitudinal changes since 2000.

METHODS: Data of newly certified Kuwaitis with best-corrected visual acuity 0.1 or less or visual field constriction to 20 ° or less in their better eye, aggregated in intervals from 2005 to 2009 and 2010 to 2014 and presented as IR per 100 000 person years of observation by age, gender, severity and leading cause.

RESULTS: Delayed certification resulted in rise of IR from 2005. IR of males declined since 2010, whereas among the females it continued rising at a slower rate. After 2010 IR of patients from 40 to 59 years expanded significantly and declined in the group over 60 years. Retinitis pigmentosa was the leading cause driven by high prevalence of consanguineous marriages; the large difference between the males and females is due mainly to cultural factors. Diabetic complications escalated from 2005 affecting patients over 40 years. Glaucoma became the leading cause in the age over 60 years after 2005 and while the male patients decreased after 2010 by 18%, disabled females grew by further 35%.

CONCLUSIONS: Demographic, social and behavioral factors had impact on the structure and time trends of registered blindness among the Kuwaitis. High prevalence of diabetes and aging of the population resulted in rise of certification from diabetic complications and glaucoma in the last 10 years.