Visual Impairment among Adult 50 Years and Above in Malaysia: Findings from National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2015 Noraida Mohamad Kasim 1* , Noor Ani Binti Ahmad 1 , Mohamad Aznuddin Bin Abd Razak 1 , Nor Azizah Ibrahim Wong 1 , Maisarah Binti Omar 2 , Chan Ying Ying 1 , Muslimah Binti Yusof 1 , Rajini Sooryanarayana 1 , FazlyAzry Bin Abd Aziz 1 , Rassidah Jamaluddin 1 and Hj Tahir Bin Aris 1 1 Institute for Public Health, National Institute of Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia 2 Ijok Health Clinic, Kuala Selangor, Selangor, Malaysia * Corresponding author: Noraida Binti Mohamad Kasim, Institute for Public Health, National Institute of Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Jalan Bangsar, 50590 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Tel: 03-22979442; 016-2180406; Fax: 03-22823114; E-mail: noraida_kasim@moh.gov.my; k.aidazul@yahoo.com Received date: July 28, 2018; Accepted date: August 14, 2018; Published date: August 20, 2018 Copyright: © 2018 Noraida MK, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Abstract Background: Visual impairment and blindness are common problems in older adult of Malaysian and the number of people affected is likely to increase as the population age increased. Visual impairment can be described as any chronic visual deficit that impairs everyday functioning.This study aims to determine the association of visual impairment with diabetes mellitus among adults in Malaysia. Method: Data was analyzed on adults aged ≥ 50 years from the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2015, a cross-sectional, nationwide population-based survey covering information on socio-demographic profile, diabetes mellitus and visual domain from the locally validated Washington Group Short Questionnaire. Results: The overall prevalence of diabetes patients had difficulty in seeing was 26.1% (95% CI: 24.2, 28.0). Elderly Malaysians was noted to have higher proportion of visual impairment 27.8% (95% CI: 25.6-30.1) compared to other age group. From that, we selected the respondents aged 50 and above and the result showed 32.5% (95% CI: 30.76, 34.37) of them having visual impairment. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine factors associated with visual impairment and showed it was significantly associated with diabetes mellitus [aOR = 1.8, 95%- CI: 1.7-1.9], more female visually impaired [aOR = 1.1, 95%-CI: 1.0- 1.2] and most among elderly [aOR = 5.3, 95% CI: 4.4-6.4], other bumiputra [aOR = 1.9, 95%-CI: 1.6-2.1], widow/widower/divorcee [aOR = 1.4, 95%-CI: 1.1-1.7] and rural [aOR = 1.0,95%-CI: 1.0-1.1]. Conclusion: National screening and educational programs were needed to reduce visual impairment and risk of blindness among diabetes patient. The findings may help increase the awareness of visual impairment by general public and policy makers as well. Keywords: Visual impairment; Diabetes mellitus: Visual acuity; Washington Group Introduction Visual function is an important thing in the quality of life especially among elderly due to increased risk of developing chronic diseases which may afect their healthy life style and require physical and health care [1]. Visual impairment (VI) and blindness was a global problem with the important of socio economic factors which have proven efects on the quality of life of individuals and usually imposed great family related and socio economic loses [2]. It remains a major public health problem worldwide. Tis condition may worsen if they develop visual impairment or blindness. It has been reported that the prevalence of VI in developed countries was signifcantly lower compared to developing countries [3]. Visual Impairment is one of the major causes of disability in the United States and Taiwan [2,3]. It has been estimated that the prevalence of visual disabilities will markedly increase during the next several decades, with an estimated 70% increase in blindness and low vision by 2020 [4]. People with Diabetes Mellitus (DM) regard Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) and VI are unable to walk around without assistance and difcult to perform the simple tasks such as reading, bathing, driving and so on. Mobility of a VI or blindness person is important whether in physical, psychological or economic aspects and it also an important tool of the person’s independence in their everyday life. In China, World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated the prevalence of blindness among people more than 50 years was 2.3% based on two major population-based study conducted in sub urban area in Beijing [5]. Visual impairment and blindness are common problems in older adult of Malaysian and the number of people afected is likely to increase as the population age increased [6].Visual impairment can diminish the health and well-being of older people in many ways, for example by afecting their mobility and contributing to their risk of falls and injury. Te prevalence of visual impairment around the world are vary greatly and they play an important role in determining the quality of life, life expectancy, expenses and even the risk of accidents [7]. Teir ability to perform everyday activities such as reading, walking or watching television can be afected. Tus, preventing and treating visual impairment can increase the prospect of enjoying life as a healthy and productive older person. J o u r n a l o f D i a b e t e s & M e t a b o l i s m ISSN: 2155-6156 Journal of Diabetes and Metabolism Noraida et al., J Diabetes Metab 2018, 9:8 DOI: 10.4172/2155-6156.1000801 Research Article Open Access J Diabetes Metab, an open access journal ISSN: 2155-6156 Volume 9 • Issue 8 • 1000801