Indigenous eye health measures 2018

Measure 1.1.1: The number and proportion of Indigenous Australians with vision impairment and blindness (vision loss).

Most of the vision loss experienced by Indigenous Australians is potentially preventable. Measures of the prevalence of vision impairment and blindness are important for monitoring changes in eye health over time and identifying the need for services.

• The prevalence of bilateral vision impairment for Indigenous Australians aged 40 and over was 10.4% and the prevalence of bilateral blindness was 0.3%.
• After standardising for age and sex, the estimated prevalence of bilateral vision loss (vision impairment and blindness combined) for Indigenous Australians was 2.8 times the rate for non-Indigenous Australians.
• The prevalence of vision loss increases markedly with age. For Indigenous Australians, the prevalence of vision loss was 7% among those aged 40–49, compared with 56% among those aged 80 and over.