[Monocular blindness in west Cameroon: epidemiologic aspects and causes].

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiological aspects and causes of unilateral blindness in the western Province of Cameroon. The results show that unilateral blindness affects all ages. This is in contrast with bilateral blindness where patients a affected are above 50 years of age. A male predominance is observed (Sex ratio: 1/13/1). The main causes of monocular. Blindness are cataract (34.8%), ocular trauma (27.7%), open angle glaucoma (22%), and corneal opacities (6.4%). The male predominance and the presence of many young patients in the sample can be explained by the high prevalence of ocular trauma in this study.