Global eye injury patterns diverge by age and development level
Eye injuries remain an important cause of vision loss globally, and a recent study by Wang et al. analysed the Global Burden of Disease 2021 data to examine trends in eye injury burden across countries with different levels of Socio-Demographic Index (SDI).
Key Findings:
- Despite age-standardised incidence rates declining from 623 to 503 cases per 100,000 population, global eye injury cases increased from 33.7 million to 40.0 million between 1990 and 2021, with population growth contributing around 208% of the increase.
- High SDI regions had the highest age-standardised incidence (776 vs 368 per 100,000 in low SDI regions) and were the only SDI group where incidence escalated rapidly among adults aged over 75.
- Young adults aged 20-24 years and males continued to bear the greatest burden of eye injury worldwide, with males in high-middle SDI regions experiencing more than three times the age-standardised incidence rate of females (990 vs 317 per 100,000 population).
- The study highlights the importance of tailoring eye injury prevention strategies to local demographic and socioeconomic contexts, supporting more effective approaches to reduce avoidable vision loss worldwide.
Reference: Wang Z, Huang J, Fang Y, et al. Persistent global inequality in eye injury burden: a secondary analysis of the 2021 global burden of disease study (1990–2021). BMJ Open. 2025;15(9):e097537. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2024-097537
