Most common cause of blindness in India is?

ESIC Nursing Officer 2016 (Shift -2)

Community Health Nursing

Easy

Appeared in: ESIC Nursing Officer 2016 (Shift -2)

Explanation

Cataract is the leading cause of blindness in India, responsible for the majority of cases.
The National Survey on Blindness (2015–19) confirms that untreated cataract accounts for 66.2% of all blindness cases in the country.
It is characterized by the clouding of the natural lens of the eye, which impairs vision.
Cataract is considered a major cause of 'avoidable blindness' because vision can typically be restored with a safe and cost-effective surgical procedure.

Option A: While Glaucoma is a major cause of irreversible blindness, it accounts for only 5.5% of blindness cases in India, which is significantly lower than the prevalence of cataracts.
Option B: Vitamin A deficiency is a leading cause of preventable blindness specifically in children (xerophthalmia), not in the overall population. Its prevalence has decreased due to public health programs.
Option C: Trachoma is an infectious cause of blindness whose prevalence has been significantly reduced in India through control programs. It accounts for only 0.8% of blindness cases.

Visual 1: Diagram: A side-by-side comparison of a normal eye with a clear lens and an eye with a cataract, illustrating the cloudy, opaque lens.
Visual 2: Chart: A pie chart showing the percentage distribution of the causes of blindness in India, with the largest segment (66.2%) labeled 'Cataract'.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Epidemiology of blindness in India as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
The high prevalence of cataract-related blindness underscores the importance of the National Programme for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment (NPCBVI), where nurses play a vital role in community screening, health education, and facilitating access to surgical services like eye camps.
Nurses are key in counseling patients and families, dispelling myths about cataract surgery, and ensuring post-operative care to prevent complications and ensure good visual outcomes.
What if? If the question specified the most common cause of blindness in the pediatric age group, the answer would shift towards uncorrected refractive errors or Vitamin A deficiency, highlighting the need for different public health strategies for different age groups.

How to Approach the Question

This is a factual recall question based on public health statistics (epidemiology).
Identify the core components of the question: 'most common cause', 'blindness', and the specific location 'India'.
Access your knowledge about the leading causes of visual impairment. Recall that cataract is an extremely common age-related condition.
Compare the options. Cataract surgery is one of the most frequently performed surgeries, which points to the high prevalence of the condition.
Eliminate the other options based on their specific contexts: Glaucoma is serious but less prevalent; Vitamin A deficiency is primarily a cause of childhood blindness; Trachoma is a controlled infectious disease.

Concept Tested & Keywords

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